Team MAPL
by Copla of Meaty
Summary: Mallow Rouge is a seventeen year old boy who's family owns a small multi-cuisine restaurant in the city of Vale. He dreams of one day being a Huntsman and defending his Kingdom. Unfortunately, less-than-average dexterity has kept him out of combat school. So is it some great miracle that he's selected as part of a recruitment program? Or a huge miscalculation? Only time will tell.
1. Mallow Rouge

Hello! I'd like to start by admitting that I'm really not that good at this "writing" thing and that I'm rather inexperienced when it comes to writing fanfiction.

With that out of the way, I'd like to say: welcome to this RWBY fanfic. I hope you enjoy yourselves while reading it.

Please don't come in to this with a closed mind. I'm aware that some OC's can turn out terrible. If something bothers you, please don't refrain from flaming me with reviews. As an inexperienced writer, any review will make me happy.

Anyways, lets begin.

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><p><span>Mallow Rouge<span>

"Mallow! Mallow! Hurry up! Take the trash out!" called the voice of Iridine Rouge, slightly strained due to yelling. She stood in a doorway leading into a side alley. Her long, dark locks rolled lightly around her shoulders as she peered down at her son with docile chocolate brown-eyes that contrasted her striking tone.

"Yes, mom? What is it?" the recipient of her intense stare – a petite young man with the same dark hair and brown eyes, dressed in a grungy dress shirt and dress pants – responded quietly. He sat by the door in the alley. He didn't quite look his mother in the eye. Instead, he opted to gaze ahead, eyes downcast.

"Didn't you hear me? Take the trash out!" Iridine said with slightly less force.

Mallow nodded slightly, acknowledging his mother's order with a quiet, "alright". Iridine shut the door, leaving the quiet boy alone in the alley. He then, proceeded to gather up a large pile of putrid-smelling, black bags that had gathered miserably in the alley; only to drop them all pathetically. The boy sighed before carrying the bags, one at a time, to a street curb.

"I am a loser," he idly thought aloud on his first trip. The boy couldn't help but continue thinking this as he carried – well, dragged – the remaining bags to the curb.

Once the difficult job was done, Mallow plopped down by the bags and stared at his great city. From his position, he had an amazing view of Vale. Across the street was an astounding view of dirty, graffiti-covered warehouses as far as the eye could see. Around him, were several spectacular lampposts, all of which in desperate need of maintenance. Trash was scattered all around the area, enhancing the already exquisite nature of the place, like snow in winter or fallen leaves in autumn. Trash was simply a _big_ part of what made his living place incredible.

Mallow looked down the street, both ways, observing his surroundings. The same ones he's had since he was little. To his right were more warehouses, a rundown bar, and a few other _questionable_ locales. And to his left, was probably the highlight of the young man's environment: a single Dust shop titled: "Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust". It was just as dirty and graffiti-soiled as the rest of the street and every window could really stand to be replaced. And yet, it was – to Mallow's eyes – the highlight of his home (aside from his parent's restaurant, of course). When he was little, every strand, every bit of free time the young boy had, was spent in the Dust shop. He had no idea how they were used. He just loved to stare at the crystals and feel the substance in its finest form between his fingers. While he did this, the shopkeeper told him fantastical stories about his father, his sister, and his son; all of which were hunters. He told of daring exploits, and heroic adventures filled with evil, bestial Faunus and the horrific Creatures of Grimm. As a child, Mallow only paid half-attention to these stories, far more interested in the Dust itself. However, it was still the highlight of his childhood, aside from free food from the best restaurant he's ever been to (and the only one at that).

Unfortunately, Mallow had stopped visiting the Dust shop. Instead, he sits on the curb and stares at it. The young man is far more content with just that. It hurt him though, because hardly anyone ever visited the sorry shop. And that can be attributed to the fact that the poor place was subject to more robberies than actual visits. "Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust" had been "visited" by strange men in black suits and red shades, very often, in the past.

Mallow felt sorry for the people who owned the place. Unfortunately, the young man couldn't do a thing. Last time he tried culminated in probably the most humiliating experience of his life.

In the aftermath, the young man realized that he could never be a true fighter. He could never be like the Huntsmen and Huntresses from the old shopkeeper's fun stories. He also realized that he was insanely lucky. For some reason, the perpetrator's potential killing blows had no effect on Mallow. Of course, all this meant was his embarrassment was prolonged. But in the end, he was grateful for his life. However, he was not grateful for his hands; his weak, pathetic, mangled, stupid, feeble, puny, frail, unhelpful, gets-me-in-trouble-all-the-time hands. They made it so he couldn't wield a sword, fire a gun, throw a spear, and grip the handle of, well, anything. They were just so weak and easily damaged.

After that, Mallow never returned to the Dust shop. He just didn't know how to face the owners after he had failed them.

As his lament continued, Mallow turned away from the Dust shop and his most humiliating memory. And instead, continued to sit by the trash bags on the curb with his head in his hands, bemoaning his existence.

He sat there for an indeterminable amount of time until: "Mallow! Come on! Dinner's ready! I made something I know you'll really like!" Iridine, once more, stood in the doorway leading to the alleyway. Mallow arose from his depressed position and turned his head to look at his mother. But he made no other movement. So, to get him to hurry up, Iridine called, "Guess what?! Your father's finally back! I think he wants to see you."

Immediately, Mallow jumped excitedly and started off towards his mother. Only to slow his pace and slump slightly, trying to downplay his elation. He hoped his mother didn't notice.

Iridine smirked inwardly, but made no other indication that she had seen her son react so childishly.

Mallow paused before going in; he regarded his mother calmly, and then continued on. Each step and gesture was played for an exaggeration and mock facsimile of some of the regal folk that came around. The young man couldn't help it, when he was excited he was so much more careful and aware of everything. Especially his mother and what she would say every time his back slouched or he disrespected someone.

Mallow looked around the somewhat cramped space his parent's restaurant was. There were only six four-person tables around the tiled room as well as two booths crammed to the side. To the left was the main entrance and exit to the building and the right contained the kitchen and the doorway to it.

At one of the four-person tables there sat a rough man with dull burgundy hair and hard brown eyes. He wasn't facing the duo of mother and son. Instead, he appeared to be occupied by a piece of paper.

On the table were three plates of delicious food. Each was filled with Iridine's special corn curry over rice. The dish was filled with pieces of carrot, chicken, onions, and potatoes. Its wonderful scent could be picked up by Mallow from where the boy was standing at the end of the room. His mouth began to water as he thought about it. His mother always made the best curry. He was the best at pasta though. And his father was the self-proclaimed King of Soup.

"Dad…?" Mallow called quietly, unsure of what to say. The young man hadn't seen his father for more than a few seconds in three years. He wasn't sure how to face him.

The man jumped slightly. He looked up and his brown eyes softened. "Son…" he said, somewhat choked up. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has."

An uncomfortable silence permeating within the room like a cold wind let in through a door into a warm room. They didn't quite look each other in the eye and instead let their eyes wander all about the room.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Iridine cried suddenly, causing the two men in the room to jump fearfully. "I didn't make dinner for you guys to stare at it. Eat! Eat!"

Responding to the woman's insistence, Rex Rouge laid the paper on another table and immediately beowolfed down half of the meal with extreme satisfaction. Mallow sat down and began taking swift bites out of his meal as quickly as he could, desperate to hear the reason for his dad's sudden visit. Iridine took a few bites out of her meal, not really interested in it. She found more enjoyment in seeing her boys back home.

'They are both so awkward,' she thought happily.

Once the two were done with the meal, they stood up stiffly and placed the plates on a separate table. Rex reached for the piece of paper on the table, replacing his licked-clean plate with it. He looked at his son with a quiet look of apprehension, for he wasn't sure how his son felt about his constant absence.

He cleared his throat. "Well…um, son…this is…well…" He rubbed the back of his head, completely unsure of how to speak to his son. "Um…"

Iridine kicked her sort-of husband in his shin.

Rex jumped up. He finally found the courage the look his son in the eye and, rather nervously, he said quickly, "How are you, son?"

Mallow, however, was far more comfortable around his father and was eager to speak to him. "Great, dad, I've been doing amazing. Anyone would in this kingdom of trash and graffiti. Honestly, it's been real exciting around here. Also, have you forgotten my name or something? Why am I just 'son' to you?"

Rex raised his hands defensively. "I remember your name, son. Isn't it Mallory, or Mallord or something?"

Iridine kicked him in the shin again and so did Mallow, joining in on the fun.

"Alright, alright, I'm joking, Iridine, Mallow." The older man began to smile, now that the ice was broken and a good meal digesting in each of their bellies.

"I'll give you a bit of time to catch up." Iridine stood up and gathered up the dirty dishes, leaving the two men alone to talk.

"So Dad, how's your life going? What have you been doing? Is it important? Why can't you tell me what it is? What are you doing back? Wha-" Mallow rapidly spouted bullets of questions.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, Mallow," Rex said, gesturing with his arms for emphasis. "One at a time, boy. Honestly, I just got back."

"Okay," Mallow agreed with the same amount of energy, "What have you been doing, as of late?"

"Mallow, I can't tell you. You know this. You've asked this question before and guess what? The answer hasn't changed."

"Just tell me…have you been cheating on mom?"

"W-w-what?" Rex sputtered, not expecting this from his son. "I would n-never…"

"Really?"

"Well…There was this one really hot…"

"You're kidding! You've got to be joking, when I tell Mom…" Mallow said happily, having picked up on his father's sarcastic tone.

"Tell her, boy. She trusts me. My love for her is truer than the sun and straighter then a sword, unless the sword is a katana or cutlass or some other bent weapon."

"That sounds stupid. I'm sorry, but it does," Mallow said, snickering at the cheese his father produced from his mouth.

"Shut it, boy. Now hurry up, give me another question."

"I mean, how is the sun true? What sense does that make? And you've given more examples of a bent sword than a straight one. I'm not sure I can trust you." Mallow was downright cackling at this point.

Rex groaned audibly. "Forget about it, boy."

"I can't though, it's just so stupid."

Rex facepalmed. "I'm just going to leave now. See you later." He began to slowly stand up out of his seat. Slowly, not too fast, after all, he didn't really want to leave him. But sometimes threatening was necessary, especially with this family.

"No wait, I'm sorry. Please don't leave now." Mallow had a genuine look of disappointment and – could it be? – fear. "You just got back…Can you tell me why you're back? That's something I really want to know."

"Alright, so…Mallow, have you seen the news recently?" Rex waited until his son gave an answer. Mallow gave a slight, confused nod. "Then, I'm sure you've heard about the recent attacks on Hunters, be it the creatures of Grimm or other." Mallow nodded again, excitement was clearly etched in his features. "Well, because of that. There has been a decrease in the amount of Hunters. Their occupation is an important one, so the school that trains Hunters has started a more liberal recruitment program."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Mallow asked, more confused than excited now.

"Well, I got me thinking. If they're more desperate, they're probably be more willing to accept candidates, even the ones they wouldn't even consider on normal circumstances. Right?"

"Yeah, that makes sense…" Mallow said, still confused.

"Anyways, Mallow, I'm fully aware of your dream to become a Huntsman. And now, I think you've got a chance." Rex had a jubilant gleam in his eyes; his left foot began to shake rapidly.

"What are you talking about?!" Mallow cried, suddenly very emotional. "Don't suggest something like this to me. I can't even attend a more public combat school, like Signal, due to my hands. My damn hands that don't let me…"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Rex said, once more gesturing with his hands in the attempt to calm his irate son. "Don't think like that. Think more positively, like me. I think that you should be excited for this opportunity. You finally have a chance to achieve your dream…"

"Sometimes it's best to forget about your dreams, than to risk getting them crushed," Mallow whispered sagely.

Rex wisely ignored him. "Why aren't you agreeing with me? Think about it. Your hands are so bad that a public combat school wouldn't accept you. But, what if a more selective combat school was more interested? If they can't fix your hands, then I don't know who can. But I have faith that they can…"

"Stop trying to raise my hopes for this, Dad! I don't need more disappointment in my life." Mallow became quiet, his voice solemn, and his sarcastic tone, ditched.

"I'm not trying to raise your hopes! Just look at this paper and…"

"I don't care about that stupid paper!" Mallow was now yelling and Iridine couldn't help but divert her attention from the dishes. She cracked the door open and stared at the duo, but made no other movement. "And I do agree with you. Maybe Beacon academy could fix my hands, but I'll need to be accepted first and at this point, that doesn't seem like a possibility. You shouldn't even send in an application for the recruitment program." Mallow's voice had become empty as he thought about his situation.

"Well, it's too late for that." Mallow turned to stare at his father, absolutely afraid. "I already sent in the application. And guess what? They've…"

"No, don't tell me. Don't show me anything! I just can't take…" Mallow was nearly trembling in fear. His knees shook and his hands twitched.

"For crying out loud!" roared Rex. "They accepted you! Just let me speak alright!"

"What?" Mallow deadpanned, not quite sure he heard what he thought he heard.

"They accepted you! You're going to Beacon. Aren't you excited?"

"What?" Mallow asked as his voice had started to return to the volume it was before.

"Are you kidding me? Are you still somehow upset?" Rex asked completely confounded by his son's reaction. "You're dreams are about to come true and…"

"Not like this. Nothing makes sense. How could I be accepted?" Mallow began waving his hands in the air, with confused rage. "Those who are accepted at Beacon are either graduates from a smaller school or they are incredibly talented! I'm none of that. I'll just be useless. I'll just be wasting everyone's time." Mallow's voice was very empty and terribly sad, not sure how to respond and thus reacted reflexively.

"Mallow…"

"How did I even get accepted? Can you tell me that?" Mallow asked, trying to restrain himself.

"Well, I had a conversation with their Headmaster and…" Rex started.

"What?! You got to talk to Ozpin? How would you even get to? Can you tell me more? What did he say? What…" Mallow began to fire off more questions, his rage forgotten at the mention of the legendary Beacon Headmaster.

"You know, you've really got to stop asking 'what' and just let me speak," Rex said, slightly annoyed by his son's constant interruptions.

"Alright…" Mallow whispered, calming himself down.

"Anyways, Professor Ozpin was very interested in you and actually invited me to speak with him," Rex began; weary of his son's interruptions. "I had to submit all kinds of test results but each of them allowed you to join. I gave him a blood test, some of your hair, even a urine test…"

"A urine test! What…How…I don't even…"

Rex wisely ignored his son's interjection and instead, continued regardless of his son. "I also had to submit a recording of just you sitting around. But, for some reason you've been accepted. Just think of that."

Mallow did just that. He thought about his father's words and debated what he should do. 'Well, I guess I can't really complain. I mean, I've been given the opportunity to pursue my dream. I just don't want to waste everyone's time. But if Ozpin himself was interested in me, I guess I should go through with it.'

Mallow looked up slowly and stared at his father, his chocolate-brown eyes fearful but excited. "Dad, I've decided that I want to go."

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><p>Alright, I hope you've all made it through the stink pile that this probably turned out as. Forgive me. I beg you.<p>

Anyways, if you did like it (not likely) please do either one or all of the following things: review, favorite, follow. If you didn't like it please do either one or all of the following things: leave, flame in a review expressing your deep hate for it (and maybe some constructive criticism? Please? :) :| :( ).

I'll be very grateful either way.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in any way possible.

Have a nice life!


	2. Enter: M, A, P, L

This is amazing! I actually got reviews! ***celebrates with cupcakes*** I'm so happy that I feel like responding to each review.

Whisper6636: Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad that you like Mallow and I'll try not to disappoint you. However, I'm introducing the "A", "P", and "L" of team MAPL. I hope they are up to snuff. Except the "A", but that's how he's supposed to be.

ElfCollaborator:Wow! It's you! I was reading your story, "Weiss Reacts", the other day and I thought: "damn, this looks like a lot of fun." So I started thinking and, by using Monty Oum's OC chart rule that I found on his twitter, I came up with team MAPL! It's just so cool to see you read/review my story. So, thank you for that.

**This is a disclaimer. I forgot to insert one in the first chapter. I failed, but despite that, I do not own RWBY.**

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><p><span>Enter: "M", "A", "P", "L"<span>

Mallow stared out through his window, taking in the sheer vastness of a night sky dominated by stars. Staring into the sky never ceased to amaze the boy, even when he was young. There, countless dots sparkled, glimmering beautifully like powerful little eyes watching the world below. When he was a child, they filled Mallow with endless wonder. Long ago, he could name each and every constellation, state its origin, and the time of year it showed up. His favorite one was "Selucreh and the God Taijitu", an intricate system of stars loosely depicting a well-known battle between one of the first Hunters, Selucreh, and a horrific, twisted version of the already monstrous King Taijitu. This was one of the first tales that the Dust shop owner told him.

The young man simply couldn't sleep. The implications of the next day hung over him like a personal raincloud, so heavy that it didn't even rain upon him, choosing to crush him under its dark mass.

He contemplated his options for the next day. Initiation into Beacon awaited like a blade hung over his neck. He would most certainly die, or at least, he thought he would. But it didn't matter. Mallow would go regardless. To him, it was either certain death for him or certain death for his dreams. One of the two mattered more than anyone could possibly understand.

"I just can't sleep" was repeated over and over in his head as the night was drawn out, like the blade of an assassin. But eventually, the young man succumbed to the beckoning of the night.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The light of the moon and stars was Adonis Iridis's only means of illumination in the cold of the night. He travelled swiftly, leaving the smallest of indents in the ancient trunks of an old swamp, making only the slightest noise. He wore the pelts of an Ursa he had killed a while back, hoping that the scent on the skin would disguise his own from the local Grimm. He had roughly sewn the pelt into a trench coat of sorts, complete with several pockets containing a plethora of objects usable in combat. A small bag was slung over the young man's right shoulder, carrying the few supplies – relatively unrelated to combat – he brought on his journey to Vale and subsequently, the prestigious Beacon Academy.

Adonis paused and decided to take a brief break atop the canopy of a mangrove. A pair of striking purple eyes stared coldly at the bright but shattered moon, without feeling, without giving any kind of passing thought. The stars didn't mean much to him either. In fact, the young man really didn't really give a damn about the sky in general. It was far from his reach, something that couldn't die. Since the sky couldn't be killed, there was no reason to worry oneself with it.

Instead, Adonis found himself far more interested in the winds, and the shifting mangroves below him. He took a small breath through his nose, and then paused to think about an odd scent that he picked up. He looked around his immediate area, analyzed the wind's movement and patterns.

Suddenly, the young man's eyes widened. He reached into his Ursa-pelt trench coat and rested his hands on a something made of cold steel. Then, it began.

A creature dashed out of the tree line, flying towards the young man. It had sharp red eyes and was covered in pitch-black fur. It growled menacingly as it charged, teeth flashing.

Then it was gone.

A hairy hand-like paw crashed into a mangrove and fell into the bog, soon to be consumed by the swamp. Then a wolfish head followed suit, crashing into the bog, disappearing completely.

Adonis stood ready, weapon in hand. His eyes betrayed no signs of fear or apprehension. His breath was deep and calm. His muscles weren't tense, and almost appeared relaxed. His lips curled into the shadow of a cruel grin. And then, it continued.

In the night, gunshots and the sound of blades meeting flesh went off in the depths of night. There was also the howling of a suffering being and doggish whimpers that continued on for quite some time; until they were silenced, suddenly and without warning.

Adonis stretched a bit and yawned before continuing on his journey. The young man had quite a ways to go and morning was coming soon.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Hey Phlox," called a confident, playful voice atop the headboard of a sleeping girl. "Phlox? Phlox? Hey Phlox, darling, wake up! I want to speak to you!"

A young man dropped down onto the bed beside the girl. She had dazzling platinum-blonde hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall of moonlight and she wore a simple, grey nightgown that looked rather drab on the young woman's beautiful body.

"Hey girl, wake up!" He leaned very close to the girl's face, slowly closing in towards her face. His face almost touched hers, just a few inches away from being close enough to kiss. He stared at her for a while, before moving in. This action only awakened Phlox Verde from a rather deep slumber filled with happy dreams.

However, the young man did not notice the girl's rousing and found himself making-out with a fist as a pillow crashed into his head with a surprising amount of force.

"What are you _doing_ here!?" the dazzling girl's voice came out with an angry, shrill tone. She was kneeling in her bed, her hair cast all over the place covering her face and sticking up randomly. Her eyes were mad, shimmering with annoyance. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"I can see that, darling." The young man had backed away from the bed, his arms were raised defensively. His eyes were bright with wicked excitement; a happy smile was plastered on his face. He just loved to see the gorgeous Phlox even when she was mad, even when she wanted to murder him.

"Then why are you here?!"

"Okay, this may look bad, darling. But…" the young man began, slowly backing away from the increasingly angry-looking girl.

"Stop calling me 'darling'," Phlox yelled, angrily approaching the young man. "Lupine Ao, get out of here! Please, tomorrow's a big day, for the both of us." She began to calm down as she thought about this situation. It was eerily similar to the exciting episodes of the childhood they had spent together. During, their youth, many a night was spent huddled in each other's bed, reading books, eating the candy they snuck into bed, and keeping each other safe during the horrid thunderstorms.

They were in a very similar situation. Only now, it was the eve of what might be one of the greatest moments of both of their lives.

With that in mind, Phlox finally managed to restrain herself. She looked her old friend in the eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry I yelled, Lupine. I'm just afraid, so afraid. We might have an opportunity to enter Vale's Beacon Academy and I… Well, I'm nervous Lupine." She didn't look him in the eye. She made no other move. Phlox didn't need to.

Within seconds of Phlox's nervous confession, Lupine wrapped his arms around her, gripping her in a deep embrace. "I'm nervous too. There are a lot of things to be afraid of in that wide, wide world out there. But I know, without a doubt, that we can handle anything, together. How does that sound, darling? It will be like old times. It will be just like when we were little kids."

They looked each other in the eyes and for a moment, Phlox felt like kissing Lupine as well. He was so warm and they were so close. But it disappeared, the slight feeling within the young woman scattered, it blew away, as if an ethereal wind came through and stole it away from her and she saw Lupine in a different light. He was no longer the boy that she was best friends with, nor was he the young man she had dated a little while ago.

"It sounds wonderful, Lupine. I…" she began, only to be quietly hushed by the young man.

"Shhhhhh. Say no more, darling. I'll see you in the morning," Lupine whispered, before starting on his way out the door.

Phlox made no effort to follow him, nor stop him. She yawned and then, crawled her way back into the folds of her covers. They welcomed her gently, slowly guiding her into the folds of the night.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Lupine Ao shifted quickly through the night, evading security cameras and guards. The Verde mansion opened up to him as he snuck around. Pristine, green walls and a slick, carefully lacquered wood floor made up most of it. Random statues and busts could be found on random pedestals, lining the wall. There were also several gorgeous paintings worth millions of Lien. Many were of the haunting moon that lay shattered over the night sky. Some were of the dazzling, Forever Fall, the forest that was always appeared like it was autumn. The seasons never shifted there.

Lupine was often tempted to steal a painting or two from the Verde's. It would be a simple task, and once it was complete, he would sell the painting to the highest bidder and maybe his family would have enough money to leave the Verde's. There were a few nice ones kept hidden in corridors that many of the staff had forgotten about. Ironically, the young man knew the estate better than the ones who actually owned it.

But every time the young man thought of a scheme to sever his family's connection with the powerful Verde's, he would suddenly think of the youngest and – in his opinion – the best looking of their extending family: Phlox Verde, that platinum-haired, sapphire-eyed beauty haunted his dreams and every waking moment.

He loved her. That was clear to him. Unfortunately, he knew she would never return his feelings. He knew that in her mind, he will always just be a friend to her.

As his mind was occupied with a few forlorn thoughts, he had lost track of his pace and soon, he found himself in the Verde estate's garden. Once he triangulated his location, in respect to his family's modest housing upon the estate, he decided to remain in the gardens for a while. The light of Remnant's glowing, broken moon shown through the glass surrounding the enclosed gardens. There was so much of the garden to look at, but what really caught the young man's eye was a shimmering fountain. It was beautiful.

Lupine walked towards the fountain and stared at a clear, flat surface of water that mirrored him perfectly. He stared at his reflection and peered at the handsome face of a young man with gold-amber hair and sky-blue eyes. It was a face that had melted the hearts of many young women (and a few young men) all around the estate. Many around his age fawned around him, hoping for his affection. But in the end, the one person who would never return his own love was the person he was head over heels for.

"Irony is such a cruel god, or goddess. Oh, who even cares?"

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Morning came to bring light upon a world consumed by darkness and for a moment the darkness was pushed back, giving way to a brightness unknown to the nocturnal, unknown to those that live in the shadows. This light brought morning as well as the realization to the young Mallow that his life was about to change.

Mallow jumped out of bed, his body practically radiating with manic energy. He packed everything he owned – which wasn't that much, mind you – and ran down the stairs, smiling all the way.

Once he landed on the main floor, he immediately bottled up his happiness, stuffed it away and locked it up; hopefully, never to be seen for a while.

There wasn't much activity in the restaurant. In fact, there was absolutely none, except for his mother who was wiping the tables, probably for the third, fifth time this morning alone.

Mallow nervously approached his mother, his hands in his pockets. "Hey mom, I guess dad's already left. Hasn't he?" His eyes were downcast, as he tried to disguise his happiness.

Iridine wasn't fooled by her son's performance, for she knew him better than he did. "Yeah, he's gone." She put down the cloth and walked towards her son. "Anyways, Mallow, here are the forms you're going to need." She handed Mallow an envelope completely enveloped by messages in thick, dark writing. The messages said: "remember this, Mallow", "don't forget this", "if you lose this…", and "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO GET OFF YOUR ASS AND DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE".

Mallow smiled as he quickly read the messages. "Thanks mom, thank you very much".

Iridine's eyes began to shimmer, taking on the appearance of the surface of a body of water. "Enclosed in that envelope are a trolley ticket, a clearance form, and the application. I'm pretty sure you know how to use that ticket. Please tell me that you do!"

"Yeah mom, I do. Don't worry. I may sit around on my ass all day, every day. But I'm not _that _incompetent. Have a bit more faith in me."

Iridine smiled, as she brought her index finger to her eye to wipe its rim, directly underneath it. "I know. I'm sorry, Mallow, I'm just _so_ excited for you." Her face suddenly turned stern. She began to stare down at her son, scaring the mellow boy quite a good deal. "Mallow, I've heard about the danger that Beacon students are put in almost every day. I've heard about their rigorous initiation. I heard…that there…" She suddenly lost her sternness, her features softened and suddenly there were rivulets of tears streaking down her face.

Mallow stared at his mother, unsure of how to react after this sudden jump between moods. 'Maybe dad's constant absence is having more of an effect on her than I thought it would,' he thought, intrigued and worried about his mother, 'maybe it's something else? Should I ask?'

"I'm just _so_ worried that my wonderful, sarcastic, mellow little boy might not come back to me." Iridine was outright sobbing now. "P-p-please p-promise me, Mallow. Please don't die. Please come back to me."

Mallow withheld the geyser of emotion threatening to burst out of him. "Alright mom, I'll try not to die. But I'll make no promises. In this day and age, who knows when…?"

"Don't joke about that." Her tone, once more, became stern and solid.

"Alright, I promise mom."

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><p>Alright, I've now introduced all of the OC's. Please give me feedbackyour thoughts on them. It will be most appreciated.

Feel free to ask questions in any way possible.

Have a nice life!


	3. A Dream of Flowers

More Reviews!

Oh, I couldn't be happier. And all of them are positive too! Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

Response Time:

SLJRJETBLACK: I will read your fic. Just wait a while. I've been busy.

Guest(1)/Nick: It took forever for your review to show up. I appeared in my inbox but nothing happened on the actual site. So, I was really confused. Anyways, it's all cleared up so thank you.

ElfCollaborator: Yay! Thank you so much! By the way, I do have a theme for each of my OC's. But they are somewhat unorthodox, especially Team MAPL. But then again, they have a Team CFVY (pronounced coffee) and each character is named after a treat (source: Monty's twitter). So...I don't know.

Everyone: Let's just say that MAPL is based off a certain myth that shall remain unnamed or otherwise, it'll spoil so much of the story.

**DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! Woke up this morning and guess what? I don't own RWBY. It belongs to Roosterteeth.**

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><p><span>A Dream of Flowers<span>

It was late afternoon as Mallow found himself becoming drowsy, the weight of today's events slowly dawning on him. After he had gotten ready in a hurry and said his farewells to his mother he had spent about two hours just walking around Vale, taking in the sights and saying good-bye – probably for the last time – to the city he had spent his whole life in. After many reflective moments spent in complete silence, the young man finally found himself a trolley and then, an airship that would take him to Beacon. Mallow found it pitifully hysterical that the officials letting people into the airship believed he had faked the accepted application. Apparently he was too weak-looking that he _had_ to have been lying. But what was even more hilarious, was the look of awkward shock and deep apology when it was proven that his papers were completely legitimate. They had let him on without any more words. The airship left soon after, taking Mallow and the other travelers on the airship to their future.

Mallow pulled his legs up on his chair and connected his chin to his knees. So much was happening, just today alone. He trembled slightly in his seat, he never felt more terrified. He shook himself, attempting to be rid of the tension and the apprehension. But nothing worked. As each minute passed his heart rate soared as he reminded himself of the mess he was in. The longer he sat around thinking about it, the more agitated he felt. Eventually, his agitation ignited becoming frustration.

'I'm such an idiot,' Mallow thought angrily, 'In what universe would I make a good Hunter? In what universe could I actually be useful in?' Mallow let himself stew in self-deprecating thoughts for quite some time. By the time he stopped, evening was steadily approaching and the young man found himself at the brink of losing it. And he may have, if it wasn't for a visit from another passenger onboard.

"Why, hello there stranger," a sweet, cultured voice of a stranger called to him.

Mallow looked up from his knees and then, immediately fell from his perch, nearly dropping out of his seat at the sight of his visitor. Sitting across the way was a young woman who looked around his age of dazzling beauty, wearing a form-fitting, emerald sequined dress that highlighted her gratuitous _proportions_.

The girl smiled wickedly while raising a single eyebrow at Mallow's _totally_ dignified reaction. She stood up and strolled towards him. Every step she took made the overwhelmed boy's eyes pop and jaw drop. Once she made it across, she held out her right hand and said, while smiling: "Greetings stranger, I am Phlox Verde."

Mallow instinctively reached with his left hand, before realizing his awkward mistake and switched, all to the young woman's amusement, "M-M-M-Mallow Rouge," he stammered, only barely able to get the words out.

"Please to meet your acquaintance, Mallow," Phlox said as she shook the young man's shaky hand. "Pardon me, but as I was familiarizing myself with this airship. I stumbled upon you, awkwardly muttering to yourself. I instantly became curious. So tell me, what were you muttering about?"

Mallow started to involuntarily tremble. He opened his mouth but, instead of an audible sound, only a jumbled, distorted mess left his mouth. He restrained himself with extreme force. "I-I-I…uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh…well, I…um." He was so worried that this beautiful girl would leave if he couldn't talk to her. 'She probably thinks I'm weird. She probably doesn't want to speak with me anymore.'

Instead, Phlox laughed heartily. "You're so awkward Mallow." Her sapphire-blue eyes were alive with delighted glee. A wide smile was etched on her beautiful face. She brought the back of her hand up to her spectacular red lips to stifle her laughter. "You know what? I like you Mallow. I hope you make it in to Beacon."

Before Mallow could respond to the lovely girl's statement, another voice joined in. "Phlox, darling? Phlox? Where are you darling?"

The young woman before Mallow suddenly looked really guilty as she wrapped her right arm around her stomach and gripped her left elbow as well as lightly biting her lower lip. "I'm over here, Lupine," she called out awkwardly.

After her call, a young man – also around Mallow's age – appeared in the corridor. From his feet up he wore tannish-gray sneakers with blue laces, long shorts of a similar color, a tight shirt also, of a similar color, and a leather vest colored about the same way, adorned with blue around the edges. He had light-brown skin with gold-amber hair and sky-blue eyes.

The young man walked up behind Phlox and rested his head on the young woman's shoulder. He wore a carefree and excited grin as he started to move his hands, to Phlox's hips.

At that moment, Phlox flinched nervously, stopping the bright-haired boy's advance by tightly gripping his wrist. "I told you, Lupine: stop calling me 'darling'," she sighed, pulling herself away from the young man who was a bit too close for comfort.

"Sure darling," Lupine said absentmindedly, he waved his right-hand dismissively. He let his attention leave the beautiful beside him, long enough to notice a nervous Mallow, unsure of how to react in this situation.

Phlox started to protest Lupine's complete disregard of her statement but she was cut off by a curious Lupine. "Who are you?" he asked a bewildered Mallow.

The young man in question tried to speak but he found himself mystifyingly tongue-tied as well. He opened his mouth but all that came out was the same confused mess that had been spat out when he tried to speak with Phlox.

"Can't talk, can you?" Lupine asked, rather pointlessly. He cocked his head to the side. His mouth was kind of twisted in a half-grin.

Before Mallow could attempt to answer and – no doubt – embarrass himself again, Phlox stepped in to defend him. "Of course he can, Lupine. Leave him alone." She had a fierce, yet still somewhat subdued look of irritation lightly etched in her features, as if she didn't really care.

Lupine looked back at the young woman glaring at him, with a playful smirk. The blue-eyed boy had been the recipient of many of Phlox Verde's death glares – it was a trait that ran in the family – and to be honest, he had seen worse. "Alright, alright," he said, with, clearly faux, resignation. He shot the awkward boy a strange wink. "I'll leave him alone. But I want you to come with me. How's that sound, darling?"

"Perfectly reasonable," Phlox sniffed calmly. She began strolling stiffly down the corridor, Lupine happily behind her. Before they disappeared from sight, Phlox turned around and gave Mallow a smile and a small wave. Then, they were gone leaving the hallway empty and missing Mallow's delayed wave back.

Once he was sure they were gone, Mallow growled in frustration and near self-loathing. "Dammit, you're an idiot, man. Right there was your opportunity to make a few friends and you've failed. You've failed. Arrrrrggh!" And then, Mallow continued to stir in passionate, angsty thoughts that no one really cared to listen to or comment on. A few people passed the young man in the hallway, they gave him odd looks. Not just because of his strange way of sitting – which he returned to after Phlox and Lupine left – but because he was mumbling to himself like he was trying to curse those around him or he was simply insane.

Phlox and Lupine passed him at least once more after their initial visit. But this time they didn't spare a single word for him, having not even noticed him as they continued a heated conversation that Mallow didn't care about. A spiky, raven-haired boy wearing camouflage pants and vest as well as a plain-black shirt passed him by without a second thought. On his waist there were two holsters containing rather large foot-long guns. He wore combat boots that appeared to be encased in some strange metal frame. Finally, he also had braces, made of the same material on his arms. Five more seventeen-year-olds passed by Mallow, giving him odd looks, but generally forgetting about him later. Among them were three girls and two boys. One of the girls that passed by had light-brown hair and bright amber eyes. She wore a short _hanbok_ that ended around mid-thigh, the skirt was pink and the blouse was white. She had a rather pointed face and a face framed by long bangs. Her skirt was decorated with small chords with beads attached, one of these hung from the top of her blouse. A long, black metal pole-like weapon was strapped to her back. The final and perhaps the most interesting thing about this girl was the long, pointy fox ears that meshed in nicely with her hair and nine long, silky black tails that came out from an area above her skirt. After the strange fox faunus had passed, another girl passed him by. She had hair as dark as his and eyes as red as blood. From the top of her head, downwards, she wore a strange, flower-patterned comb in her hair, a necklace of perfectly round beads, a lavender, flower-patterned _kimono_ that only came down to her waist and was worn openly, exposing her midriff and lilac, hawk-patterned crop top, light-blue half-_hakama_ that almost completely exposed her right leg while leaving her left completely concealed by the pleated garment and finally, wooden _geta_ elevated her feet giving her a few more inches of height. At her waist was a decently-sized gourd that was attached by a thin chord. The object was large enough that it appeared as if it could fit in both of the girl's hands. The last girl that passed him, Mallow didn't even realize was a girl. She wore thick pelts and was heavily armored. She also had very short, red hair that was even shorter than Mallow's and plain brown eyes. No skin – except for her face – was shown anywhere. From her armored boots to the broad shoulder- plates she wore. She appeared all male to him. It was only when he heard a young man's voice refer to her as a she that Mallow realized his mistake. Speaking of which, the young man that came to join her was also a sight to be seen. He was very tall, at least six feet at the barest minimum with around four-to-six inches that could be added on. He was also rather scrawny making look as tall and thin as a bone. He had short, turquoise hair that was mostly hidden under a military beret. He had dark-blue pants on and a black, leather jacket that remained fully buttoned over it. None of them showed any signs of a weapon on their heavily-clothed body but Mallow sorted them out as probably the most dangerous of the people he's seen so far. These two had passed like all the others and Mallow had forgotten about them, kind of because they hadn't really left a mark on him, kind of because his next visitor was far worst. The last boy to pass by him without a second thought was probably the creepiest of them all. He was skin was of the purest snow white and so was his hair. He didn't even look alive; the young man's pointed face looked like the visage of a ghost, wandering around the corridor without a pause to even give Mallow the smallest bit of acknowledgement. To be honest, he was thankful he didn't look directly at him. The pale boy had piercing, pink eyes that seemingly gazed deep within people. He didn't look very human, but of course he was, wasn't he?

On that note, Mallow fell asleep, weary of the day's travels, stress, and frustration. Darkness overtook him, ferrying the young man away and into the depths of his imagination. Once the darkness became total, light immediately came back, blinding him. Before his vision could return, sensation flooded his mind. He could feel lush softness between his toes, a cool wind blowing through his hair and an unspeakably sweet smell that the young boy couldn't quite describe. Then, his sight returned. The young man's jaw dropped. Before him was a picturesque vision of a green valley, full of lovely vegetation and a collection of – what might as well have been – every species of flower in the world. While there were many greens, the flowers all shone with a variety of hues and shades that Mallow had only ever seen in textbooks or documentaries. Yet, there they were, completely subservient to the powerful wind as it gripped and twirled them in a dazzling fashion. He spun around, taking in the valley that seemed to go on forever, absorbing the greens and the peace of his environment. Having spent his whole life in the slums of a large city, he never had the opportunity to experience a place, untouched by man. His mind was truly boggled. "You enjoying everything, Mallow?" asked a strange voice behind him. Beckoned by the voice, he turned to see his friends sitting and having a picnic. Who are those guys? Are they my friends? I have friends!? I do, don't I. I have friends. But where did I meet them? What's happening? Who are they? Strangely enough, Mallow could not make out their faces. However, he could still tell them apart. There was a red and black streak smiling at him in innocent cheerfulness. A pure white polygon offering him a generous, but reserved grin. A black blob, nibbling on tuna, while waving lightly at him. A nova of yellow that waved and smiled with unbridled spunk and enthusiasm. A green force with a face of odd adoration and a blue slash of energy and excitement, sitting beside the green force, trying to grasp her hand or place his hand on her hip. Only for her to push him away, but not too far that he would stop trying. Finally he noticed a light-yellow glow that gave him a nod of acknowledgment. "Hey Mallow, join us." Hey, they want me to hang out with them. They like me. But, who _are_ they? But eventually, Mallow gave in to his friends demands and joined them in celebrating what he realized was his birthday. They gave him presents, told jokes, and just messed around. They did what Mallow had always imagined kids his age would do. His perfect day continued on for quite some time, until – naturally – evening came and the party dispersed. Then, the dream was over.

Mallow looked around, the sun had almost fallen and the airship was swiftly approaching the cliffs of Beacon. With his destiny and the potential fulfillment or absolute destruction of his dream awaiting, the young man found himself oddly calm. While he was still afraid, still scared for his life and the dream he dreamed for the majority of his life. There was something else that filled him with confidence; well, not a lot of confidence, he still probably couldn't hold a conversation with another human being on the airship, but a different kind, a confidence in himself and his abilities. Professor Ozpin himself was interested in him. That alone made the positivity gliding around him, soar.

An intercom went off and emitted a calm voice, "Attention Beacon recruitment attendees, please come up to the main lounge for an introduction to this year's rather unorthodox program."

Mallow responded after the announcement ended, by jumping out his seat and…following backwards into it. The young man was not accustomed to sudden movement and he had been sitting for the past seven hours; but eventually his anticipation overcame his stiff, underused joints and muscles and he pushed himself into the main lounge just as the introduction was about to begin.

Everyone in the room stopped to stare at him. All six armored guards turned towards his direction. Eleven pairs of eyes from eleven seventeen year-olds stared at him with a confused look on most of their faces. None of them recognized him (except for Phlox and Lupine, but they were preoccupied). He caught the amber eyes of the faunus-girl and the red-haired girl that had followed her. The duo of heavily armored masculine woman and thin but tall man, stared at him with annoyance and amusement. The spiky-haired boy that had passed by him without a second thought, revealed his gray eyes to Mallow. The albino boy was right beside him, his face blank. Finally, Mallow noticed someone he had not seen on the airship before.

From where Mallow was standing, to the farthest right in the room, the young man realized the turquoise-haired man's impressive size was nothing. Standing there was a young man who had to have been over six feet and five inches tall. He could've been even taller as he appeared to be standing in a slight slouch. But what really distinguished him from the other tall boy was the obvious strength represented in his body. He wasn't thin by any stretch of the imagination. But he wasn't fat either. He wore a long, black trench coat that looked like it was made from the pelt of a creature of Grim but it didn't disguise his physique. The young man was a mountain of muscle and strength. He was clearly the most threatening person on the airship.

He also had his eyes on Mallow, but there was no readable expression on his face. But what struck Mallow most about this young man were his eyes. They were a striking purple that didn't just look at him, but at his soul. They had seen things that no man should ever see. They've played witness to crimes too terrible for comprehension.

Mallow wanted to melt on the spot, if he could. He was horrified by all of this attention from strangers. It made him delirious. He almost fainted. And he might have if he wasn't saved by the start the introduction, the reason they were all called here.

"Good evening and welcome to Beacon," said the calm, collected voice of Glynda Goodwitch, the well-known assistant of Professor Ozpin in the form of a pre-recorded hologram. "For those of you that don't know, my name is Glynda Goodwitch."

A few of the teenagers in the room, nodded in acknowledgment, having wondered what her name was until she graciously provided them with it.

"You are among a select few given this rare opportunity to enter this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing a slow upheaval of a peace and calm that has spanned for generations. As future huntsmen and huntresses it is your duty to restore peace to our world. Here, you will be provided with the knowledge and training to protect Vale and the other Kingdoms. Tonight, you will be initiated into an accelerated regiment to help you catch up to the rest of your future classmates." Her hologram vanished leaving the lounge relatively quiet, aside from the shuffling of feet as the teens stood around in wonder.

With their attention gone, Mallow found himself relax a little. 'I can do this,' was repeated in his head, over and over. The more he repeated it, the more he found himself believing in it as well. 'Maybe I can do this. Maybe I will succeed. And then, I'll be able to become a huntsman.'

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><p>Sorry if a bit more characters were introduced. But think of the secondary group as the JNPR to RWBY. Just another team going through similar experiences.<p>

Anyways, thanks for reading this so far. The positive feedback is extremely inspiring. Thank you all for it.

Have a nice life!


	4. On your Marks! Get set! Go! InitiationP1

Rapid update mode activated!

**This is a Disclaimer: "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "RWBY" "RWBY who?" "I don't own RWBY." :/ **

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><p><span>On your marks! Get set! Go!<span>

Night had fallen when the airship landed. Beacon academy was located in the distance. Its glorious tower stood above all, just as radiant as Mallow had imagined in his dreams. Even though he wasn't in the academy's hallways yet, he could feel the grandness and prestige that the place offered and demonstrated. Hunters that graduated from there were the best of the best. Now, all Mallow had to do was get in. If only that were as easy as it sounded.

The group of ten was led towards Beacon's cliff face. When they looked downwards, they saw that the Emerald Forest was shrouded, choked by shadow. From their perspective, the applicants couldn't even tell that a forest was down there. In their eyes it was darkness, pure dark that didn't allow for prying eyes to see its secrets from a distance. Those secrets needed to be experienced, up front and personal.

Each would-be student had varying reactions towards the mystifying sight below.

Mallow was terrified upon remembering that down there was where the initiation took place. The young man became even more scared as he remembered how freshmen were usually _launched_ into the forest. And finally, he realized that – for some reason – the initiation was being held at night, instead of morning. At night, the creatures of Grimm practically combine with their surroundings, even in a clearing. They would be hard to discern. 'I'm so dead,' the young man deadpanned to himself.

When Mallow looked around, it appeared as if the other teenagers were largely unaffected by the shadowy imagery. Some looked slightly unnerved or agitated, but they didn't betray the amount of fear that Mallow was convinced he was showing. Phlox was among them, so was the fox faunus and the red-eyed bottle-girl. A few didn't seem to notice the dark mass that was apparently a forest; they had a casual, relaxed expression of their faces. Nothing seemed to bother them. Lupine was among them, so was the spiky-haired boy, the turquoise-haired, the really tall boy, and the girl that Mallow had mistaken for a man. Finally, there were those who appeared comfortable, almost excited upon seeing the humongous shadow down the cliffs. This category applied to the albino boy and the mountain of a young man with purple eyes. They each had a crooked smile on their face. Their breath was short, although Mallow doubted that it was because of fear.

The focus on the dark Emerald Forest shifted as footsteps could be heard. Two figures approached from the shadows: a gray-haired man holding a coffee mug and the blonde-haired woman from the airship. Mallow recognized them instantly as Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. The young man nearly fainted just by being near these two.

"For those of you who don't know, I am Ozpin. I am the headmaster of Beacon." The teenagers murmured in response. "And you are very special individuals invited to attend this school from all around Vale and the surrounding areas. Tonight, your abilities will be evaluated down there, in the Emerald Forest." He paused to regard the students calmly, without betraying emotions or feelings. "I will call out your names. As I do, please stand on the launch pads in the order I call you.

"Adonis Iridis." The purple-eyed boy left the crowd and took his place on the platform farthest down the row. The young man towered over both Ozpin and Glynda, who became recipients of an unreadable expression from the mountain of a young man.

"Maverick Casco." A raven-haired boy took his leave from the crowd. He wore an apathetic smirk as he strolled towards the platform next to Adonis.

"Marron Heltinne." The dark-haired masculine woman that Mallow mistook for a man walked slowly towards the platform next to Maverick.

"Sangui Yong." The creepy albino boy slinked excitedly towards the platform. The crooked smile remained on his face as he walked. He stopped by the platform beside Marron, he gave her a strange glance before turning and staring ahead at the darkness below.

"Phlox Verde." Phlox finally found some peace from her avid admirer as she moved with such grace, that Mallow almost swore that she was gliding. She stopped by Sangui's platform and – as the albino turned to stare at her with his creepy pink eyes – Phlox immediately wished she was with Lupine; until Ozpin called his name and then, there he was.

"Hey darling," Lupine whispered in Phlox's ear, making her roll her eyes in slight annoyance.

"Waxyn Pequod." The really tall, but skinny boy left the dwindling crowd and took his place beside Lupine.

"Teel Squall." The red-eyed girl with a small gourd at her waist, took her place besides Waxyn. She looked down the aisle, gauging her opponents. They all looked _very_ formidable, especially the extremely hot one at the end and the creepy albino boy; however, she probably only thought that because one was extremely good looking and the other was just plain scary.

"Amber Byeon." The fox faunus nervously stood on the platform besides Teel. She also looked down the aisle, but for a different reason. Her eyes rested on the boy farthest down the row and would not leave. That is, until, he returned her look with a stare of cold loathing making her shiver and look down in shame and regret.

"Mallow Rouge."

The young man nearly fainted after hearing Ozpin say his name. It was like a dream come true. He tried to look dignified as he only had to walk a few steps to stand on his platform. But unfortunately, he couldn't stick the landing and nearly fell on his face. Afterwards, Mallow looked down in shame and prayed that no one was looking at him.

"Alright, now that everyone's in position. Let's continue," Glynda said curtly. "I'm sure that many of you have heard of it by now. But, here at Beacon students are assigned to teams of four or teams of two pairs. You will be living with your team and be spending most of your time with them. Tonight, you will be receiving your teammates."

Aside from Mallow – who already knew how this process worked – the other nine murmured and muttered in response to her comment.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your tenure, here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to find someone that you will work well with," Ozpin continued. "Once you land, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Ozpin paused for a moment as every teenager in the area looked at each other and made a quick evaluation. Lupine caught Phlox's eye and waggled his eyebrows at her. She gave him a blank stare and shook her head in exasperation. Mallow just stared at his feet.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will be hindered along the way. If you hesitate to react to opposition, you will die."

Reactions varied all through the line. Adonis didn't do anything. Maverick grinned as if he was saying, "bring it on". Marron pursed her lips. Sangui smiled and licked his lips with a rather long tongue. Phlox found herself tensing nervously, but calmed once Lupine placed his arm around her, comfortingly. Waxyn simply shrugged. Teel stared ahead, steeling herself for the harrowing experience. Amber gulped and nervously looked at the ground. Finally, Mallow nearly wet himself.

"You will be monitored and evaluated for the duration of the initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. Once you've reached the end of the path, there will be an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Mallow was so tempted to raise his hand, so tempted to jump off the platform, so tempted to run. But then he decided that there was no point to raising his hand as he already knew more than the other teenagers going through initiation, and he would look so terrible if he ran.

"One more thing. Since we only allow teams of four at Beacon, two of you - regardless of your success - will be eliminated. Now, take your positions."

'But I'm going to die. I'm screwed. I don't even…' As his mind stirred, the launching process had already begun. Adonis shot off without anything in his hand, so did Maverick and Sangui. Everyone else drew their personalized weapon. Except for Phlox, who reached into a pouch she happened to have with her, withdrew a vial of red dust, and opened it, letting its contents fall in her hand. She then, proceeded to do something strange with it: she brought it up to her face and snorted it up her nostril. Her dress began to glow with a bright crimson color. She reached into her bag again, and withdrew a cylindrical tube with a rounded bottom adorned with green twisting ivies. She tossed a few pinches of light-green, yellow dust and somehow set it on fire causing the contraption to emit smoke.

'What am I doing? What am I doing?' he thought wildly. He turned to see the tall boy named Waxyn getting launched. 'I still can run. I can still run.' He looked back down towards the path and then back towards Ozpin and Glynda and his blood ran cold.

Professor Ozpin was well-known for his apathy and general lack of expression but now, he was looking directly at Mallow with an eyebrow raised. As if he was daring him to run.

Mallow was, naturally, distracted by this and found himself confused for a second. Then, he heard a fateful clang and felt the wind whipping his face and hair.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Mallow twirled in the air, the rush of the wind made it impossible for him to see or discern his location. It went like this for a while. It felt like infinity. But then, Mallow felt the wind's force lessen and the ground opened up to him. "Oh great," he roared – but also whispered, as the wind was still too strong – "I'm dead." He closed his eyes too afraid to see the ground approaching and waited for the end.

**_To be continued…_**

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><p>Pointless cliffhanger is pointless... Oh well. I've had a ton of fun so far and I hope you guys are too.<p>

Have a nice life!


	5. Falling Stars (Initiation Part 2)

Just to clarify, when I said "rapid update mode activated". I was referring to the fact that I had updated twice in one day. Anyways, now for some responses:

LightJakRises: Thank you very much for your compliment. And thank you for being the first to add a few tips alongside your review. They will be taken into consideration.

JustAFerret: Wow, I don't have a sufficient response for that. I don't know what to say that would be fitting. So instead, I'll just pathetically say: thank you. Then, just leave it at that.

**Disclaimer: I just don't. I don't own this pseudo-anime or its characters. That's just how it is.**

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><p><span>Falling Stars<span>

Ozpin stood on the Beacon cliff face alongside Glynda Goodwitch with only the light of the moon and the glow of their scrolls to illuminate their surroundings. They stood stoically, like shadows, meticulously judging the movements of the ten subjects within the darkened Emerald Forest.

All of the future students were still in the air, gliding gracefully (for the most part) until gravity began to make its presence known to the ten beings roughly defying it. As the ground steadily approached, nine of the ten finalized their personalized landing strategies and prepared to execute them.

Adonis and Sangui disappeared into the foliage of two rather large trees on the opposite sides of the forest. None of them were seen drawing a weapon by either Ozpin or Goodwitch but after a few seconds they both leaped from the tree unto the ground with no signs of harm or worry. They each had rather empty expressions on their faces, as if they hadn't just been flying through the air. It was only until they took a full breath of the fresh night air, that the two actually started moving. They transformed into blurs, one dark, one pale.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The fox faunus, Amber kept herself aloft using her weapon, an uninspired combination of a _waldo_ and a rapid-fire mortar launcher that sacrificed power for firing speed. Each shot fired from her weapon kept her moving through the air until she found an ideal tree to make her landing on. She unleashed a barrage of shots from the end of her weapon, pointing towards the tree's general direction, slowing her approach even further. Once the tree was only a few feet away, Amber lodged her blade in a branch, ending her flight from the cliffs. She took several deep breaths of relief, trying to restrain her wild breath as the young woman became very tempted to hyperventilate.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

As the tree line approached Marron threateningly, the young woman steeled herself for the incoming impact and drew a small, but thick shield about as wide as her shoulders. She brought it up in front of her face and gripped her left arm with her free hand, prepping for a rough impact. Marron smashed through the first tree, as if it was made of balsa. The second tree met with Marron's assault with slight resistance, but shattered nonetheless. After five trees were completely torn through by Marron, she had slowed enough to end her fall. Another tree was approaching quickly, so Marron activated the secondary function of her shield, and the weapon expanded and shifted into a rather dense dual-bladed axe. The masculine woman closed her eyes and concentrated her aura to certain areas of her body, causing her arms and legs to give off red sparks. She forced her weapons into the sixth's trees trunk and surprisingly – for the instructors, at least – completely halted her descent. All of this was done with one hand.

Marron paused to admire her handiwork for a moment, before lowering herself on a branch close to the ground. But then, a long harpoon lodged itself into the tree, just a few inches away from the girl's head and within moments she wasn't alone on the branch.

"Damn Marron, are you just showing off or are you just _that_ badass," Waxyn asked, with a cocky tone, never used around anyone but her.

"What do you mean, Waxyn?" Marron asked calmly, with a fittingly deep voice.

"I mean, that landing was nearly perfect and you did it with just your left hand! You're not even left handed." Waxyn smiled at her, clearly impressed.

In response, the girl did something that was slightly less fitting: she blushed, but only slightly. "Thank you Waxyn, but I had to use my semblance to make that landing, or otherwise I might have torn my arm off…"

"Just accept the compliment girl, and let's continue," Waxyn interjected. "Now, who's ready to be the first pair to make it to the temple first?"

"I will be as ready as I need to."

"That works."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

As Teel fell, she envisioned the many ways she could land smoothly. 'There are just so many options,' she thought avidly. She continued to methodically think out her landing strategy until the tree line was only a few feet away. Reacting with insane reflexes, Teel drew the strange gourd from her belt. The object emitted a strange glowing energy that elongated like a whip. Using the device she caught hold of a branch and swung past the first tree. She continued to swing through the treetops, until she felt her arm ache and thus she found a clearing free of trees and slowly lowered herself down by extending the whip-like energy beam. Once her feet were firmly planted on the ground, she withdrew the energy. 'Well, looks like I took the least interesting one. That's what I get for taking too long,' she thought regretfully before continuing through the forest on foot.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Maverick Casco had a very different landing strategy, at least in comparison to everyone else. It was casual and appeared to be very easy. He did not seem to be bothered by the approaching tree line and rush of the wind. The young man easily halted his fall by engaging the thrusters in his boots, allowing him to slowly land. "That was easy," he remarked, with absolute honesty, and without apprehension.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Phlox flew through the air, a stream of smoke trailing behind her as she went. Her dress and eyes were a yellowish-bright green as she brought the ivy-adorned tube to her mouth and inhaled the smoke it produced. As she breathed in more smoke, an intense feeling of euphoria came over her, as well as an incredible feeling of power. The more she inhaled, the stronger the feelings of elation and strength became. Her mind became dulled to the tree line, slowly approaching to rip her to shreds. She was unafraid of it. With her mind numbed, she concentrated her aura and the power she felt in her veins, forming glyphs in her hands as she did so. Suddenly, the wind picked up around Phlox, and only Phlox. It formed around her like a cyclone, keeping her aloft until she landed gracefully on the ground.

Meanwhile, Lupine moved through the air with the same finesse and confidence he demonstrated on the ground. The gauntlets on his arms had expanded, extending from his arms. A wicked pair of claws formed over his fingers, and a fairly large contraption formed on his arms. On one side was a long single-sided blade, the other was a small – but still quite powerful – multi-barreled machine gun. Using the impact created by firing each barrel simultaneously, Lupine kept himself moving through the air, intent on remaining aloft until he found Phlox.

"There you are, darling," Lupine noted aloud, but still quietly, not wanting the young girl to run away. He began to direct himself towards the platinum-haired beauty, moving very precisely so he would not give his position away. The young man followed Phlox to a large, sturdy tree giving him the opportunity to make his landing. Once he was close enough, he dug the blade into the tree trunk but not deep enough to impair his movements as he slid down the trunk in a spiral-shaped fashion, moving swiftly down the length of the tree until he hit the ground and landed firmly on his feet; surprising Isolde and causing their eyes to meet.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Meanwhile… up at Beacon Academy's student dorms…

Lie Ren lay on his bed alongside several books and his scroll. The young man was almost literally shoulder-deep in homework and books to study. It was likely he would have to pull an overnighter.

He took a drink from a mug of coffee on his nightstand. The warm beverage rejuvenated him and reinvigorated his studious effort. He looked over an incredibly old history tome, dissected its contents and summarized sections in his notes.

The young man took a break from his arduous studies to give a very long yawn. He paused to look around the dorm room he normally shared with three others. But for some reason the usually lively room was absolutely barren.

'That's odd,' Ren thought to himself, 'dinner was about three hours ago. Where is everyone?'

Suddenly, at that moment, Ren received the answer to his questions.

"Ren! Ren! Ren!" Nora called, just as sprightly as always, even though it was late into the night. In fact, it was technically morning already. The pink-haired girl had burst through the door and bolted over to her childhood friend. "Ren, you've gotta come to Team RWBY's room with me!"

Ren put his face in his hands, trying to resist Nora's contagious smile. "I'm sorry Nora, but I've got to study." The young man had already begun to lie back down on his bed to resume studies. "You should too, and by the way, where's Jaune and Pyrrha?"

Nora ran up to him and started to drag him off of his bed. "They're in the other room already! Come on, can't you come for at least, three-to-five minutes?" She stopped trying to pull him off the bed and instead, gave Ren a pleading smile.

Ren groaned and pulled himself out of bed, conceding to the pink-haired girl's demands. "Alright, I'll come and see."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Nora grabbed a hold of Ren's arm and dragged him across the hallway and into Team RWBY's room. Within, he came across an interesting sight of a room filled with students. Some were still dressed in their school uniforms, others were in their sleepwear. Besides his own teammates, he only recognized the members of Team RWBY and Velvet from Team CFVY. They all seemed to be gathered around some students scroll, rapt with avid interest with something on screen.

"Nora, why do I need to be…?" Ren began, slightly confused about why he needed to be here. But then, his thoughts were interrupted by his teammates and friends.

"Good to see you Ren!" Jaune called.

"Hey Ren!" Pyrrha said, giving him a slight wave.

"Hi Ren!" Ruby and Yang cried simultaneously.

"Shut it guys, I'm trying to study!" Weiss commanded irately. The white-haired heiress was laying on her bed, practically shoulder-deep in homework and books to study. Upon seeing this, Ren felt a twinge of empathy but did not act upon it.

"Alright, Weiss we'll quiet down," Ruby conceded, only to see another exciting thing on the scroll and began to gush with excitement. "Did you guys see that?! It's soooooooooooooo cool!"

"I know, right?" Yang said with just as much enthusiasm as her little sister.

Ren began to walk back towards his room to continue his studies, not even curious in the event occurring on the small screen. But before he could make his escape, Nora caught him again.

"Come on Ren, I just want to show you one thing." Nora ran up to Ren and dragged him with surprising strength towards the screen. The other people backed up slightly to give the new viewer a little breathing space.

The first thing obvious to Ren was that they were currently using a pirated channel. The second thing that was clear to Ren was that they were looping a recording of a young man with gold-amber hair sliding down a tree in the exact same way Ren himself did during his initiation. The only difference was that it was at night.

Choosing to ignore the second thing (he honestly couldn't care less), Ren turned towards his class and teammates, shaking his head. "Is there a reason why you guys are using a pirated channel?" he asked calmly, not actually caring about why and instead found himself far more interested in leaving as quickly as possible.

"Oh Ren, don't worry," Ruby said nonchalantly. "I've become very good at this 'hacking' thing. There's no way anyone's going to catch us. And even if they do, I'm not even using my scroll. I'm using a spare one they keep in a few random storage rooms."

"That's not what I asked…" Ren really wanted to leave now, and tried to move away from the group of teens.

"Apparently, we're receiving several new students by tomorrow," Pyrrha said, finally responding to Ren's question.

"Yeah, they're going through initiation right now," Jaune added.

With this news, Ren actually became somewhat interested.

That is, until Weiss cut in to the conversation. "Guys please, let me study!" She stood up out of her bed with her hands on her hips, eyes flashing very angrily. "What are you even doing anyway? You should all be studying! We have a _huge_ test in Oobleck's at the end of the week as well as debatable _mountains_ of homework due around the same day. Why aren't any of you even worried?!"

"Maybe because we've already finished it; have you considered that Weiss?" Yang asked teasingly, gauging the white-haired girl's reaction.

"W-w-w-what? H-how? When? I-I-I don't even…" Weiss stared at the large group of teens in her room with uncomprehending bewilderment and horror. Her left eye started to twitch sporadically and she continued to sputter strangely.

Before the young woman could explode, Ren decided that there really wasn't a reason to stay here and walked up to Weiss and asked her if she wanted to study in Team JNPR's room.

"Would I?" Weiss said excitedly, finally finding clarity amongst the chaos stirring in her mind. She leapt off of her bed and gathered up all of her papers and study materials and happily strolled across the hallway, stumbling slightly as she did so. Ren groggily followed her, suddenly desperate for another cup of coffee.

"Ren, please don't go!" Nora cried, absolutely heartbroken. "Ren, please stay. We have cake!" The pink-haired girl roamed around the room as Ren watched with a very amused look on his face. Eventually, she found the plate the cake used to rest on and screamed. "Ah! Where did the cake go?!" She looked around a bit more until she saw Ren disappear with Weiss in her own room. She frowned and hung her head, groaning quietly to herself, but only for a few moments.

Within a couple seconds after Ren left, Yang shouted, "Hey Nora, the last guy's about to land. You know, the guy who almost wet himself!"

Instantaneously, the hyperactive girl shot up and smiled as if nothing had happened. All of her energy and positivity returned with the speed and volume of a thunderclap. "Really, that super weird guy? Oooooo, this will be exciting! Pause it! Pause it! Wait for me!"

Then he made his landing and everyone shockingly stared at the screen.

"Wow, that looked like it hurt," Yang commented with an extreme wince.

"Ouch," Blake said quietly, the excitement of the event had even managed to steal the cat faunus from her books.

"I'm sure he's fine, guys," Ruby said awkwardly, with slight pauses in between words. She wore an expression that looked like it tried to be both a wince and a reassuring smile but ended up looking as if they had crashed into each other, resulting in what looked like a broken jaw.

"Yeah, Ruby," Jaune whispered, remembering a few harrowing memories, empathizing with the young man on screen. "I'm sure he's fine…"

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

'Where am I?' He could see only darkness around him.

'How did I get here?' He could feel the softness of leaves landing on his face.

'What is happening?' He couldn't smell anything, but a rich, salty intoxicating smell.

'When is it? When did I get here?' He couldn't hear anything either, only slight ringing sounds.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Mallow opened his eyes, and stared at a starry sky that shimmered in the distance. He was apparently on his back, the young man wasn't sure. He didn't have sensation anywhere in his body. He tried to move but nothing happened. 'Am I dead? Am I paralyzed? No, that fall should've killed me. But somehow, I think I'm alive. Unless I'm in limbo, but how could I be in limbo? What's happening?'

A shadowy figure started to approach Mallow from a distance. He couldn't hear it approach. Yet the brush parted before it, in a manner bound to create a loud sound. As the shadow-cloaked being approached Mallow, its size became apparent. Whatever it was, it was huge; clearly, at least, a foot or a foot-and-a-half taller than him.

He all of his willpower, Mallow commanded himself to move. He ordered himself to move and to run to safety. But all he managed was a very slight head movement. His gaze shifted downwards towards his own body, only to be met with an extremely gruesome sight.

Luckily, Mallow's vision had faded somewhat or the sight before him would have been far more ugly than it already was. The young man thought he saw: a body splattered with blood and bits of cold white showing through the blood. His chest featured several strange white objects. His right arm appeared to have a rather sharp point jutting out of it. It took him a few moments to realize that these white objects were his own bones, but by then the figure stood completely over him, blocking out the moonlight.

Absolutely overwhelmed, Mallow fainted and drowned in a cold limbo, with only one memory to grace his subconscious: piercing, purple eyes.

* * *

><p>I'm so bad... :(. Sorry for taking a while to update. I just had other obligations. Anyways, I'm happy that some of you enjoy my story. I'll try to make as good as I possibly can. But I'll need your help. So, if you want. You can leave suggestions in your reviews. Or questions, if you have any.<p>

Personally, I prefer questions, they help me get ideas out faster. But do what you wish.

Also, sorry for another pointless cliffhanger.

Have a nice life!


	6. Under the Stars (Initiation Part 3)

In just four days RWBY Volume 2 will be coming out! I'm very excited. *jumps up and down, strangely*

Anyways, in honor of this momentous occasion, I will try to update this story two more times this week. It might be difficult but all of you are completely worth it.

**Warning: **This chapter will feature a bit more action and some scenes that you may have to go into suspending disbelief. Please accept my apology prior to your experience.

Also, LightJakRises, the reason why they weren't brought in the first time is because none of them attended official combat school and thus, it took a while for them to be found. In my story, a lot of Huntsmen and Huntresses have been found murdered in their own homes. In the attempt to replace them, Ozpin, as well as several others like him, have went to great lengths to find worthy, new candidates. We all know that Mallow has no experience whatsoever. But here are some things I'll just reveal right now and hopefully no one minds. Adonis didn't live in a city, he lived in the wild. Phlox lives a sheltered life as the youngest child in a expanding criminal empire. Lupine is the son of the Verde's butler and so, spent most of his life on their main estate. And that's all I'm going to say. Maybe next time.

**Disclaimer Time! While it has been a while, I still don't own RWBY.**

* * *

><p><span>Under the Stars<span>

It had been several hours since the initiation began and no pair was anywhere close to the temple of relics. A few were headed in the right direction. But for every pair moving forward, there were several who either hadn't even found a partner yet, or were headed in the wrong direction.

For Glynda Goodwitch – who would rather be fast asleep at this late hour – seeing a few of the teens moving in the wrong direction was absolutely infuriating. She herself had no idea what Ozpin was thinking, giving a few unknowns the opportunity to enter Beacon _and_ staging their initiation in the thick of night. All of it was quite perplexing. She considered questioning her superior's motives and hopefully finding a method in which to obtain straightforward information. But she knew that wouldn't happen. Ozpin wasn't the type to be very clear.

So instead of really questioning what was occurring at his ungodly hour, Glynda busied herself with her scroll and tried to uncover something interesting about these "exceptional" teens going through initiation.

To be quite honest with herself, Glynda did not believe any of these students to be that special. Some of them were below average in her book, while others fell short of the mark completely.

Adonis was probably the only one she would consider to be "exceptional". He was of an absolutely ridiculous size, and yet he moved on light feet. He did not seem like the type to be easily distracted while in battle, nor did it seem like he would shy away from it. He also seemed to have an aptitude for combat. If scans on him were true, he held five different weapons within his makeshift trench coat. Each appeared to have a very different function and require a different degree of skill. Unfortunately, he clearly had no grasp on social skills or conventions, whatsoever. Based on recordings he was essentially a statue the entire trip from the city of Vale to Beacon.

Glynda really did not like Maverick. He had an extremely arrogant air about him as if nothing really mattered to him, not even the people around him. He seemed like a capable fighter but he lacked the attitude for it. In fact, the woman seriously hoped that he would fail. She doubted it, considering some of the people on the list, but wished for its inception nonetheless.

Marron was a very different story. The young woman seemed to take all the best features from the two previous teens and left all the negatives. She had the attitude and maturity to handle almost anything that approached her, while still being able to communicate with other human beings. She dressed sensibly, held herself with a very collected, focused and completely modest manner. She didn't seem to be the expressive type, but she was far better than Adonis.

Sangui is creepy – even Glynda couldn't say anything more about the teen.

Glynda frowned upon Phlox Verde's and Lupine Ao's relationship. It was obvious that Lupine was extremely attracted to Phlox – who Glynda recognized as the youngest daughter of the monstrous crime lord, Vito Verde (everyone knew that he was the head of a crime family but no one had the guts or the evidence to incriminate him) – and it was obvious that his affections weren't returned and, most likely, never would be. She didn't know much about their past, but she could tell in her gut that they were not going to make good partners. But then again, she felt that way about Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, and those two were arguably among Beacon's finest.

Waxyn Pequod intrigued her more than anything. While he was tall, he didn't seem imposing. While he was skinny, he didn't seem weak. His eyes were dark brown, so dark they were practically black. Waxyn appeared to be quite stoic, like Adonis, like Marron. But he revealed himself to having a cheerful, playful side. He was interesting, nothing else.

Teel Squall was also a very interesting subject. She seemed to be a less perfect version of Marron. This is because she seemed a bit more hesitant, less decisive. The young woman also seemed to be easily moved by outward appearances as well as being slightly more talkative; if anything she observed on the airship told her anything.

The last two on Glynda's list was where quality started to decline sharply. The woman had no issue with faunus joining Beacon. In fact, there were several already enrolled and they were among the best. It was just that Amber Byeon seemed to lack the confidence a Hunter requires. She also seemed to be demoralized easily. These were two flaws that could easily be cured at Beacon. It was just the young woman didn't seem "exceptional", or worthy enough to join Beacon through an accelerated course.

Finally, Glynda got to the final name: Mallow. She didn't know what to say about this boy. He had no weapons or combat equipment anywhere on his body. He seemed to have no clue about anything that was happening to him. It was as if he had a death wish. And to make matters worse, he slept on the airship. While others roamed about and tried to meet their opposition, he hid away from everyone and _slept_.

Glynda hadn't looked at Mallow's personal camera, afraid that the boy was dead. There was no way that Ozpin wouldn't have known this about the young man. After all, Ozpin had met with Mallow's family personally. He should've known how incompetent he was. She began to feel as if the young man was being sent to his death. Eventually, Glynda could not keep her feelings in. She turned towards Ozpin and professed her thoughts.

"Sir, I can't help but wonder about your motive behind this Mallow boy's recruitment. He has absolutely no combat experience prior to arriving at Beacon and unlike a few other subjects; he clearly has no place in any combat situation." Glynda shot Ozpin a pointed look, actually expecting an answer from the stoic professor. "Sir, I'm not one to question your motives…"

"Then don't start," Ozpin said slowly, his wasn't the least bit threatening and yet Glynda backed down. He turned from his position and scroll to focus all of his attention on his assistant. "I have my own reasons for my selections. They will become clear to you at a later date. Just trust me. Can you do that Glynda?"

"Yes, Professor Ozpin."

"Alright, then consider the matter closed."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Mallow opened his eyes to a starry night sky. Sensation flooded his limbs and torso. He could taste a dry, salty after taste at the back of his throat and around his lips. He could smell the cool forest air and an unpleasant salty scent. He could hear the trees and bushes rustling all around him. There was also the crackling of a fire nearby. To his right he began to feel heat as well as the presence of another.

Mallow tried to jump to his feet and prepare himself for a potentially hostile encounter… only to fall back pathetically due to an incredible stiffness in his joints. There was no pain, however the young man could barely move. He looked down at himself and his chocolate-brown eyes widened. His grungy dress clothes were nearly torn to shreds. But the pinnacle of his shock came from the red stains coating his shirt, his arms, pants, and probably his face.

"Aaaaaahhh! What happened to me?!" Mallow gasped frantically, reaching up to his bloodstained shirt, feeling for wounds and fragmented bones. His heart was beating quickly – racing even – as it strained to break free of his chest.

"You fell," a rather deep, gravelly voice deadpanned to his right, and then his heart nearly escaped from his chest.

Mallow slowly whirled to face the owner of the voice. He was met with the sight of his calves. Mallow then, looked up, and even further up. He continued to look up and up, until he met two piercing purple eyes that flickered menacingly in the dim firelight. It was Adonis.

"H-h-hey Adonis," Mallow sputtered in fear, as he began to shake like a twig in the wind. The young man slowly backed away from the muscular monster only a few feet away.

Adonis made no movement in response. He continued to stand by the fire, like a statue, unmoving and unfeeling. His eyes bored into Mallow, rotting his insides, burning his mind. There was not much the young man could do about Adonis's sudden appearance, for Mallow was simply dwarfed by the huge man. Not only that, but he was unarmed and his joints were stiff. Besides, even if he had a weapon, there was no way he could use it properly.

As Mallow continued to stir in untrustworthy thoughts, Adonis slowly sat upon the ground beside the fire and began stoking the crimson flares with a nearby stick. Even when sitting, Adonis was still huge, looking somewhere between a crouching Ursa Minor and a Beowolf. This was all hyperbole of course but young, inexperienced Mallow wouldn't have known anyway. Then he turned to face Mallow and stared deeply into him.

Normally, Mallow couldn't hold eye contact with any person, let alone someone as intimidating as Adonis. Yet somehow, the young man began to feel slightly less fearful and far more awkward. The purple-eyed mountain was going to speak and yet, he was still as silent as stone. But eventually, that gravelly, rumbly voice of Adonis returned to break the silence.

"Your name is Mallow, right?"

The young man in question flinched as if he had been attacked. His voice contained no threatening undertones and yet Mallow couldn't help but feel as if he made the wrong move, he would be attacked. He managed the courage to face Adonis and timidly uttered a slight, "yes…"

"I am Adonis. How did you fall and survive?" the large young man asked, quickly.

"Um…what?" Mallow was somewhat taken aback by Adonis's spontaneous question.

"How did you fall and survive?" Adonis repeated, with heavy emphasis on every word, trying to properly relay the message to Mallow.

"I-I-I don't…" Mallow began, just grasping the meaning in Adonis's words.

"You survived the fall. You made a drop from the sky. You made no effort to land efficiently. Somehow you lived. I found you broken and bleeding and yet you're perfectly fine. How?"

Mallow stared uncomprehendingly at Adonis, still struggling to understand the mountain's broken speech. His tone suggested that he did not actually care very much, but instead, was slightly curious. Eventually he made out the giant's words, and his eyes widened, realization finally dawning on him. 'How did I live?' he thought. In a normal world the young man would have died, utterly splattered against the Emerald Forest floor. But somehow he was alive; somehow he was moving and breathing. But not only that, he didn't have a single scratch on him. His clothes were bloodstained, but his actual body was perfectly fine – albeit a little stiff.

Adonis's eyes still remained focused on him, expectantly.

"I don't…" Mallow began. Even after understanding the mountain's words, Mallow's answer remained the same. Before he could finish his denial, gunshots rang about throughout the forest, piercing the calm, reminding the two teenagers where they were.

They both stood stunned in the clearing. Then, with incredible speed ill-fitting his humongous physique, Adonis stamped out the fire, plunging the clearing into darkness. He drew a long, red sword from the folds of his trench coat. It was composed of two prongs and a rather large space between them. The blades were very thick and featured several flaps.

"Stay behind me. You're weak," Adonis said rather bluntly. He stood in between Mallow and the gunshots. In the dim moonlight, wearing his Grimm fur coat, he ceased to be human. He was something between beast and rock as he stood rigidly, preparing for an attack.

Mallow decidedly ignored Adonis's comment, not feeling any hate or irritation in his voice. In fact, he was using the same tone he had used before. Instead, the young man's mind wandered to something he hadn't even realized before.

"Why did you light a fire in a forest full of monsters?" Mallow asked suddenly, breaking Adonis's concentration. The mountain faltered slightly, and gave Mallow a confused but increasingly angry look. The recipient of the purple-eyes continued regardless of how scared he suddenly felt just by being the main focus of the large young man's sight. "Don't you realize that would just lead them to us?"

Adonis's eyes shifted nervously away, he scratched his head and muttered, "That explain a lot…"

Before he could finish his thought, the bushes parted to allow entry by a raven-haired teen being trailed by a small pack of Beowolves. There were six of the canine beasts in flight, only a few feet behind their target. Fur stood stiffly up. Fangs were fiercely bared. The claws on their forepaws were bared, flashing wildly, desperately trying to tear the young man apart. Their fur-covered bodies were clearly riddled with gun fire, and each step appeared to cause each of them immense pain. And yet, they continued to pursue.

Their target looked up and spotted the two other people in the clearing, and shot them a dazzling smile. "Hey guys, how's it hanging? I'm a bit dog-eared right now, but how are you guys?" Maverick Casco asked without the slightest amount of stress. He activated the thrusters in his boots, creating a nearly insurmountable distance between him and the beowolves. As he began to float away, they howled furiously, until a spray of bullets from Maverick's guns made them whimper in pain.

Mallow began to back off slowly – having never faced a real Grimm before – he was absolutely terrified. They were just so large and scary and just not… human. As the young man became increasingly more likely to wet himself, Adonis ran at the suffering monsters.

Noticing his movement, Maverick ceased fire, but only for a moment. Free from the oppressive fire, the beowolves noticed a newcomer charging right at them. Growling approvingly, they banded together for a six-on-one charge, only for the gunfire to continue. This time far more powerful rounds came from the end of Maverick's firearms, at the cost of a few less bullets per second.

One Grimm went down, and another followed. Temporarily unsure of where to attack for a few seconds, the Beowolves ceased their charge for a few seconds. But a few seconds was all Adonis needed to finish them. With one mighty downward slash of his sword, he split one of the Grimm into two. Then he activated one of the flaps on his sword and a long, thin but extremely sharp metal pole rocketed out of the sword, striking the Grimm in the middle of the remaining three. Another second later, the pole exploded sending bits of sharp shrapnel everywhere, piercing the remaining beowolves in several fatal spots, killing them almost instantly. Adonis collapsed his sword and placed it back in his trench coat without any movement. His eyes and body language failed to display apprehension or fear or that something life-threatening had just happened – it was as if he just went through an everyday experience. On the other hand, Maverick twirled his guns on his trigger-fingers for a while before swiftly holstering them.

Mallow stood in awe at his spectacular dispatch of several monsters, his mouth nearly falling to the ground. "Wow" was all the young man could utter before just barely collecting himself. He began to slowly make his way over towards the two victorious young men in the clearing.

"You're amazing, Adonis," Maverick complimented, with a subtle, but thick layer of flattery that was completely missed by the young man he was complimenting.

Adonis looked at the raven-haired, dual-wielding gunslinger with a confused look before suddenly realizing that he was being complimented. Making up for a slight pause with a quick, "Thanks."

Suddenly, the bushes rustled again and a beowolf significantly larger than the ones previous charged right out and directly at Mallow. The young man screamed and cowered behind his arms as Maverick and Adonis tried to respond to the sudden attack, but there was nothing they could do that would save Mallow. He was on his own.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Hey Marron, do you even know where we're going?" Waxyn asked apprehensively, as he scanned the nearby trees for threats. While the moonlight was his and Marron's only source of illumination, he couldn't help but see all kinds of weird things from the corner of his eyes. He knew it was just a trick of the moonlight, but that didn't mean that the young man's nerves weren't set on edge by the misleading flickers.

Marron stopped and looked up to meet the eyes of her companion. "We're heading north, Waxyn." She pointed in the direction they were already in. "North is that way." Then she continued moving without another word.

"Oh okay Marron."

With that, the two continued for a few more minutes in complete silence, letting the moon guide them through the darkened forest. While they did not speak any further, the duo was thinking about the same thing; although, they were completely unaware of this. In the quiet of the night, a lot of thoughts will stir in an addled mind. And both Marron and Waxyn let their minds drift to the albino boy, Sangui and to memories of a far simpler time. They reminisced about constructive but enjoyable spars with each other and their anything-but-calm walks on the beach nearby their home. Unfortunately they couldn't help but dwell on _his_ deathly pale skin. _His_ horrible, nightmarish, soulless pink eyes. _His_ inhuman fangs and bloodlust.

Upon remembering these unfavorable memories, Marron and Waxyn shuttered simultaneously. Once they realized what the other had just done. They smiled at each other. While the pale-skinned boy from their past – who couldn't possibly be Sangui, no matter how suspicious or paranoid they were – had left a great impact on the course of both of their lives. They wouldn't have become close without his intervention. So, while they had lost a lot, they were together and that was all that mattered. Having known each other for so long, they could communicate all that with just a simple look.

Suddenly, the brushes started rustling all around them, startling the duo and breaking their reverie. They drew their weapons and prepared to fight. Whatever was coming was soon going to regret being born.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Teel ran through the shadowy Emerald Forest, rustling the bushes, tearing bark off of trees, and generally moving with a swift destructiveness that seemed to have no regard for its surroundings, having absolute focus on what was in front of it.

'Partners be damned,' she thought cockily, 'I can handle this. Nothing to it. I was hoping for a bit more opposition. Honestly, this is supposed to be a forest full of Grimm and I haven't found a single one.' Teel sighed inwardly, nothing interesting was happening. Trying to relief herself of boredom she began to climb a rather tall tree using her "Grasscutter". The gourd-like object unleashed a concentrated stream of energy that elongated like whip, which the young woman used to scale the tree.

Once at the top, the young woman had a ridiculous view of everything around her. She could see the cliffs of Beacon far behind her and the area where Ozpin and said the relics would be very close to her. When she looked down, she saw only one dark mass that moved and twisted with the wind's movement. Deciding that she enjoyed the view too much, Teel let herself relax on the topmost branch and let herself nod off. As darkness began to consume her vision she thought she saw a boy and a girl around her age flying above the tree line, elevated by some kind of tornado. In her fading vision was a trail of smoke, escaping into the air. 'What idiots,' Teel declared to herself, after all what kind of idiot would set a fire in a Grimm-filled forest. Then, just as she nodded off, poor Teel disappeared from the tree and into the air.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Amber Byeon stared in awe at the speed and efficiency in which Adonis Iridis slew several Bewolves with his sword. The fox faunus couldn't help but admire how damn cool the huge boy looked when he fought. Every move was carefully calculated, each perfectly executed, none wasted. His powerful purple-eyes made her feel butterflies in her stomach and intense warmth on her cheeks and chest. There was something incredible about this boy, she just knew it.

All Amber wanted to do was go into the clearing and meet up with Adonis. Unfortunately, he already had a partner: that wimp, Mallow. And not only that, there was an unpaired individual among the three there: Maverick. The fox faunus really did not want to be with that guy. He had such an arrogant air about him. Not only that, but he seemed too really like making others suffer, especially animals – or in this case, monsters – and there was something simply vulgar about him.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"You know what, Phlox? I'm really enjoying myself," Lupine declared. He was currently floating in the air, suspended by Phlox's glyphs. Arcane power whizzed all around him, creating funny little whistling sounds and wonderful, sparkling visuals. The young man loved Phlox's power at work. While her methods were somewhat odd, the result was simply marvelous. "I mean, what could be better than flying through the air with my favorite person in the whole wide world? Suspended by your magic, soaring through the sky; we could easily be the best team here. Am I right?"

"_I_ could easily drop you here, how's that sound?" Phlox looked at him pointedly. "Oh, and for your first question: I can think of a million other things to do in this 'whole wide world' than fly around, at night, in a forest filled with monsters, with you." She raised her eyebrows, expecting something that would make her smile and clear away the immense fear she felt flying around in the Emerald Forest.

"Oh Phlox darling, don't be like that," Lupine said playfully. He reached over and poked her in her side – a place he knew from experience, was very ticklish.

Between giggles and laughs, Phlox cried, "For the love of all that is good in the world, stop it Lupine!" She willed him below her and raised herself higher in her personal gust of wind. But then she realized what she might have allowed Lupine to _see_. She flushed a deep crimson and raised him above her while bringing herself lower to the ground. As he floated by, he had a knowing, celebratory grin that just made Phlox fume.

Rubbing his victory in more, Lupine called down to her. "You look very nice under there, darling!"

"Shut up, jackass!" She called back to him.

"Hey, that's a new one for you," Lupine quipped back, with a comely smile. The young man hadn't seen anything. He hadn't looked up in respect for his love, but it was fun to pretend to. "Hey, you know what they say about…"

"I mean it, shut up!"

"Hey I'm sorry, darling but…"

"Shh!" Phlox reached into her pouch and withdrew a leather pouch, emblazoned with a symbol in the shape of a tornado. He reached in, grabbed a handful of sea green powder and slowly brought it up to her nose.

Lupine understood what was happening and floated solemnly above Phlox, looking away as he heard her snort the powder up her nose. Her eyes, as well as several runes and patterns on her dress glowed brightly for a second before dulling to a light luminance.

Noticing that her friend was suddenly silent, Phlox looked up at him and frowned. "Lupine, what's wrong?" When he was worried, she was worried. Even though she knew that she had no feelings for the young man floating in her gust, she had always looked to him to provide a sturdy foundation in a life she felt she had no control over. In the end she truly cared for him. But not in a way the young man could understand or appreciate.

Lupine hated it. He hated every moment the young woman allowed the destructive powder to enter her body. 'Enhanced resistance to it… bullshit. That stuff is dangerous. No matter who you are.' But aloud, Lupine looked down at her, gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Nothing darling, don't worry about it."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"No!" Mallow screamed, cowering under his arms desperately hoping that he wasn't even there. 'This has to be a dream! That's it! There's no way I would be accepted to attend Beacon Academy! This was all some realistic, scary dream that I haven't awoken from. Oh well, once the Beowolf gets me, I should be back at my home, all safe and sound.' The young man sat there, for what felt like eternity. Time itself had seemed to stop. He felt the wind brush by him, he smelt the remains of a fire nearby, but he couldn't feel the Beowolfs presence.

Still afraid, Mallow opened his eyes and tried to stand up, shaking like a leaf caught in a hurricane as he did so. The Beowolf was lying on its back, bleeding out due to a large gaping wound created by Adonis's sword.

Upon seeing this, Mallow grabbed parts of himself in relief and gratitude, happy to be alive. He turned towards Adonis and Maverick, who were staring at him as if they had seen a ghost, and blurted, "Thank you, for saving me guys. I'm kind of useless, I know. I'm so sorry for that. Forgive me for…"

"What happened?" Maverick's eyes had lost its cockiness. In its place was newfound confusion and surprise.

"What do you mean?" Mallow asked, a dreadful feeling began to spread in his stomach.

"How did you knock that Alpha Beowolf attack?" Adonis added slowly, also somewhat confused. But he was less bothered by it. The young really didn't care that much, he was just curious.

"I-what do you mean? I didn't do-anything…" Mallow suddenly became very hesitant to speak. Something weird was happening.

"Don't you know?" Maverick snapped impatiently. "One of the Alphas Beowolves – you know, the largest and strongest of a pack of these monsters – attacked you. There was no way for any of us to be there and save you and yet, you lived. I'm not sure what happened. But one moment, you were almost guaranteed dead and the next you're somehow alive and the Beowolf has just been knocked back! So tell me, is the wimpy loser thing an act? Or do you just have some weird aura ability?" The young man was suddenly on edge. His eyes were wild and his voice was as harsh as a bed of needles.

"I-I-I-I…" Mallow began trembling uncontrollably. He had no idea what was going on and the gunslinger's aggressive tone made him feel a sudden urge to run for his life. Luckily for Mallow, the howls of more Beowolves and the rustling in the bush made the trio run for _their_ lives.

"We'll finish this later," Maverick decided before activating his thruster boots and disappearing into the forest.

"Agreed." Adonis ran up to Mallow, scooped him up and ran in a different direction. Unbeknownst to Mallow and Adonis – although Adonis was only slightly aware, to some degree – a certain fox-eared being followed them on their flight from the clearing and the monsters.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Blood… Blood… It's everywhere… Blood… Sweet, deliciousness… Love everlasting… Happiness, Nirvana, peace, freedom… That's where I belong… And that's where I'm going…

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"See?" Ozpin said calmly, gesturing at his scroll. On screen, a looped recording played of Mallow defending himself from the Alpha Beowolf. Monitors bordering the recording kept careful taps on the young man's vitals as well as his aura. Once the creature made impact with the young man, his aura levels shot to ridiculous levels, completely redirecting the force of the Beowolf's attack.

Glynda stared at the screen, eyes wide, almost completely disbelieving what she had just witnessed on Ozpin's scroll. In fact, she would be completely disbelieving if she was being told to view this by anyone besides Ozpin. It was just too fantastical. "I see sir; I just don't know what to think."

Ozpin smirked to himself. "Good. Expect many more surprises from these two in the future." He gestured towards a live stream of Adonis carrying Mallow through the forest as they were pursued by a pack of Beowolves. "I know I will."

Glynda turned back towards her own scroll. On screen, there were multiple windows open, each viewing the groups of teens. Marron and Waxyn were steadily approaching the objective, but were now halted by a massive, monochrome two-headed serpent, known as a King Taijitu. Phlox and Lupine were still teasing and toying with each other, even as an Ursa Major tried to rip them to shreds. Maverick currently faced no opposition as he hurriedly approached the temple at a rate far faster than anyone else. Amber was holed up in a tree, avidly playing spectator to an intense battle. Sangui was walking slowly through the forest, far behind everyone else. Teel was screaming her head off as she clung to a Nevermore's talon for dear life. And finally, she pulled up a window of Mallow and Adonis and couldn't help but stare astonishingly, at their – only Adonis's – extraordinary combat ability.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Mallow's mouth was open in unrestrained awe at what he was witnessing. Before him was a display of such pure skill and ability that it simply couldn't be real. What he was seeing was putting the Hunters he used to idolize to shame. He closed his eyes and pinched himself. He slapped himself in the face. He told himself that what he was witnessing was merely in his head because nobody could be that good. Nobody. And yet, there he was: slashing and breaking and firing and hooking and just about anything anyone else one could think of to the pack of poor Beowolves. Displaying immense skill with what had to be multiple weapons; Adonis tore through them without remorse but a surprising amount of restraint. There were only seven Beowolves fighting Adonis but Mallow had lost count of how many times Adonis had knocked one away non-lethally and allowed it to keep fighting. It didn't matter. The mountain of a young man had complete control over this fight. Every time one got to close to Mallow, it would suddenly be dragged to a safe position by a green blade, attached to a chain. Every time one got too far from Adonis, he would change the shape of his sword, causing the prongs to turn outwards forming a bow, and would fire the shrapnel-poles at them using it. Every time one got too close, a pair of round, huge, heavy-looking gauntlets would form completely cover his arms and hands. Adonis then, rained blow upon blow on the black-furred creatures. Mallow could hear a sickening crunch, every time a fist made contact with a Beowolves body. And yet, despite the repeated abuse from Adonis, they still came back with a vengeance. Eventually, Adonis decided to finish the job. He backed off from the pain-wracked bodies, called on a pair of smaller green gauntlets – they were far smaller than Adonis's other ones, two scythe-like blades graced each one and they seemed to be connected to the inside of the mountain's trench coat by a green chain – activated a secondary function, causing each to open up revealing a six-barreled Gatling-style machine gun. Without a shred of mercy, Adonis tore them to shreds, leaving almost nothing left of the creatures.

He turned to Mallow and said, "Now what?" as if nothing had happened.

"Uh-uh-uh," Mallow mumbled lamely. The young man was dumbstruck by Adonis's combat ability and nearly found himself fainting… but tried to restrain himself. He had a mission to accomplish. It was a real struggle to will his nerves calm. He bit his lip and breathed through his nose to prevent hyperventilation and he shook himself several times to try and get the nerves out. "We head towards the temple up north to claim a relic and return it to the Beacon Cliffside."

"Seems simple." Adonis began walking in the direction they had already been heading when the Beowolves attacked, only for Mallow to stand nervously in his path.

Mallow whimpered slightly, as Adonis's ferocious purple-eyes bore into him. But he managed to clear his throat and sputter, "T-t-t-that's n-n-not the r-right w-w-way. North is over there." Mallow pointed off to an area right of Adonis. "W-we have to g-g-g-g-go there."

Adonis suddenly had a very confused look on his face. He frowned awkwardly and stared uncomprehendingly at the smaller boy, waiting for an explanation.

"I-I-I s-s-studied s-s-stars in m-my youth," Mallow said, realizing what Adonis wanted without even asking. "I-I-I know a-all about s-s-s-several c-constellations, s-s-seasonal s-s-star p-patterns and their m-m-meanings. U-u-up there is the N-n-north star, s-sailors and e-e-e-e-explorers used it in the p-past to f-find their way b-before b-b-better n-navigation m-methods were invented." Mallow hoped that would explain everything to the giant young man.

Adonis cocked his head, bewildered. Before turning around, and walking in the direction that Mallow had pointed out.

Mallow's jaw dropped. 'I can't believe that worked!' he thought excitedly before hurrying to catch up with the mountain silently creeping through the forest. He looked up to him. Adonis did not look back, nor did he appear as if he was aware of Mallow's stare. His partner truly was magnificent but he had weaknesses. Luckily, it appeared as if Mallow covered them. 'We're going to make a great team,' Mallow thought optimistically. But eventually the pessimism set in.

'I hope.'

* * *

><p>Sorry guys, for the ending of this chapter. I swear that next chapter will wrap up initiation.<p>

Anyways, feel free to ask any question you'd like. Or voice strong opinions. It will always interest me.

Have a nice life!


	7. Team MAPL and Team ATWM (Last and 4th)

Hey guys! Anyone else celebrating?! I know I am! With cheesecake and (American-)Chinese takeout! This is a momentous day! Anyways, you're probably all busy with the new episode, which I - as of now - haven't had the pleasure of viewing yet. So, I'll keep this short... with what might be one of my longest chapters... fail...

**Disclaimer! I don't. Don't even think that I own RWBY. Also, if there are many grammatical errors, forgive me. I kind of told someone I would get these chapters out by today...**

* * *

><p><span>Team MAPL and Team ATWM<span>

The night drew on like a dull blade being dragged through wood, as ten teens rapidly approached their destinies. Nothing could stop them. No matter how many Grimm moved to stand in their way, they cut them down without hesitation.

A deadly tag team was forming among Marron Heltinne and Waxyn Pequod. The tall turquoise-haired boy fired his "Nemesis" and succeeded in pinning the white head of his serpentine opponent against a tree, all while his partner dueled the black head. With practiced patience Marron evaded the snake's swift strikes and deflecting ones she couldn't with her shield. Every time she evaded the serpent's ridiculous maw she would strike back before bracing herself for another attack.

"Marron!" Waxyn cried to his tough compatriot, gesturing towards the pinned creature expressively.

Understanding him completely despite only using one word, Marron prepared to follow up on their strategy. She started to back away from the Taijitu's black head, while still keeping up a strong offensive. The powerful creature crept up on Marron, backing her into a tree. But she still held strong, while her partner prepared the instrument of the Grimm's demise.

Skillfully propelling himself up unto a tree above the rampaging beast using his weapon, Waxyn prepared the finishing blow. With one end focused on Marron and the other stuck to a tree, he loaded "Nemesis" with another barbed harpoon tip. Utilizing the firing mechanism on his weapon, he unleashed pointed tip after pointed tip into the creature's body. None of them caused lasting damage but now the creature was pinned to the forest floor.

The King Taijitu rotated and gyrated on the forest floor, desperately trying to free itself from its entrapment. Once secured, Marron hopped unto the Grimm's back and prepared to finish it off. She engaged her semblance to allow her to remain atop the struggling creature. Then, with a mighty downwards thrust, the young woman plunged the sword into the serpent giving it one last breath before there were no more.

"That was great!" Waxyn called from the tree above the Grimm carcass and his closest friend. "You were great and my plan was impeccable. Wouldn't you agree?" The tall man grinned, feeling nothing but pride and elation for pulling off their improvised strategy.

"Your plan?" Marron asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, my plan. What do you think?" Waxyn jumped from the tree, facilitating his fall by stabbing a harpoon head attached to a thick, flexible chord into its trunk. He landed right next to Marron with a shy smile carefully etched into his face.

Marron crossed her arms and leaned to one side. "Personally, I think it could use a little work."

"Well, it _was_ improvised."

"Then it wasn't a plan. Besides, we were only able to pull it off because you got lucky and I – somehow – understood what you were thinking." Marron continued walking north and towards their objective. Without a word, Waxyn followed. They were so close.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000090000**

"I think that could have been done _way_ better. Don't you agree, Phlox?" Lupine crowed while narrowly avoiding a swipe from an Ursa Major. The Grimm's ferocious red eyes bored into the duo. Its anger could be felt even by Phlox and Lupine, for it deeply resented the two for taking its assault so casually.

"Shut up, Lu," Phlox groaned impatiently, rolling her eyes as she did so. She snorted another pinch of dust and wildly shook her head as her eyes and dress began to glow in the same color.

"Oh, so it's 'Lu' now?" Lupine retorted while sliding around the Ursa's body, engaging his semblance as he did so. "Wisp" was what it was called. It caused the young man's body to give off a dull purple glow and black wisps of smoke. With this ability he could move at incredible speeds, scale tall structures, and levitate. In order to use this ability effectively, Lupine has to be at close proximity with a large object. Luckily, the Ursa Major was enough to fulfil this need.

Phlox rolled her eyes again, this time choosing to ignore the young man. With Lupine distracting the beast, she eventually created the right mixture of dust to finish it off. She inhaled another puff of the smoke arising from the ivy-adorned tube nicknamed "Nirvana" and sputtered a bit as it took effect in her body. "Alright Lupine, I'm done! Get out of there!"

Obliging her command, Lupine gave the Ursa one Gatling-empowered slash from his weapon nicknamed "Zephyr" and hopped away relying on his Wisp to push off and create a great distance between him and the Grimm.

Once Lupine was out of the blast radius, Phlox rained hell upon the Ursa. Both literally and figuratively she summoned sharp pillars of ice to restrain the creature as fiery rain fell upon it. The Grimm roared in indignation and confusion but soon began to whimper in pain. Eventually the creature was completely restrained. It struggled in its prison, but it was no use.

Phlox spawned another pillar of ice and slammed down the Ursa's gullet, preventing any more distracting sounds from emitting from that location. Then, she gathered as much dust-empowered aura as she possibly could and two small azure glyphs appeared in her palms. With a mighty palm thrust, a bolt of lightning shot out of her hands striking the Ursa and killing it instantaneously.

"Whooo! Go Phlox!" Lupine cheered from the sidelines, until he turned to gaze upon his friend and love, only to see her collapse to her knees while breathing heavily. "Phlox darling!" Lupine rushed over to her location and put his arms around her comfortingly.

Normally Phlox would have pushed him off, but she didn't have the strength. Her heart rate had intensified, her breath came out ragged, a numbing feeling spread throughout her brain, and a cold sweat began to run down her body. 'They're just side effects. I'll be fine. This happens all the time,' she frantically told herself, despite knowing that this trip was far worse than anything else she had experienced in recent times. She fell backwards, only to be caught by Lupine. Looking into his eyes, Phlox suddenly felt comforted. While her body violently responded to her "intake", she felt anything but worry. Staring into those sky-blue eyes she felt satisfied, knowing that out of all the teens here, she got to be paired with her closest friend in the world.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Unlike the powerful teams of Marron and Waxyn, and Phlox and Lupine, poor Teel wasn't doing so well. The young woman was tightly wound around the talon of a Nevermore, flying quickly through the night sky. The avian monster was moving at speeds far too fast for the young woman to jump off and try to catch herself. Besides, even if she tried that, there was a chance that the bird would notice and swoop down to eat her. Instead, she attempted to do whatever she possibly could do to impair the Grimm's movement.

"Yah! Take that you winged asshole!" Teel began to slash at the bird's wings and body using an elongated energy beam, erupting from her gourd. "Grasscutter" has the capability of slashing through steel at its highest setting. Unfortunately, in its "whip" form no such thing was possible. This resulted in more annoyance than actual pain for the Nevermore.

Once she noticed that her attacks were doing nothing to the bird, Teel withdrew her weapon and unleashed her plan B. She turned "Grasscutter" on and to its highest setting. A four-foot long katana made of energy spawned from the weapon and immediately, she began slashing at the Grimm's other talon.

Teel smiled at her near instantaneous results. The Nevermore's flight path began to change; it gave off a shriek and started to guide itself towards the ground. "Yes!" she cried out in elation.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Adonis and Mallow walked steadily towards their destination. Neither was sure of how far they were from their destination. But at least they knew where they were going. That was something.

Every step was spent in silence and poor Mallow couldn't help but feel as if he was slowing down the behemoth in front of him. 'He's so much better than me. And he has clearly has been in many combat situations before. Maybe I should ask how many.' But before Mallow could even open his mouth to ask, a powerful shriek pierced the air.

"What is that?" Mallow whispered hesitantly, while whirling around trying to spot the source of the sound.

Adonis didn't say a word and instead extended his sword from the folds of his trench coat. He stared up at the sky and loosened his jaw to prepare for impact.

Mallow continued to whirl around. "Adonis, do you have any idea where that came from?" When the larger boy didn't respond, Mallow turned towards him and tried to get his attention. "Adonis? You alright? Do you have any…?"

' The jet-black haired young man couldn't finish his sentence as something struck him hard from behind and sent him flying forward.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" The world spun around him and the wind rushed in his ears and into his face. Everything in his vision had become a wild, twisting blur of incomprehensible colors. Once he was convinced that he would collide with the ground and that would be the end of him, something slammed into his back and brought clarity to his world.

Mallow looked around still dizzy and disoriented but otherwise fine. Until he realized that he was still floating in the sky. 'What happened?' the young man thought to himself, before getting his answer after inspecting something rough in his back. A green scythe-like hook was somehow attached to his back, without rending his clothes or destroying his spine. Attached to the hook was a long chain that connected to a strange sight: three of the teens he had seen on the cliff were onboard a Nevermore, holding on in one way or another.

Teel was still holding onto one of the Grimm's talons while still slashing apart its other leg. It was only barely attached by a strip of rough skin and a few red strands.

While the girl with the gourd continued to brutalize one of the monster's legs, Adonis was currently on the other side of its body. Using his giant, grey gauntlets, the behemoth utilized his incredible strength to unleash a force akin to a meteor shower upon his target: the Nevermore's head.

The chain that rescued Mallow had appeared to emerge from the sleeves of his trench coat. Seeing this, the young man suddenly became worried that he might be dropped. He continued to stare up at the awkward fight, completely oblivious to the trees slamming into him and shattering upon impact.

As all this was happening, the fox faunus Amber had somehow ended up on the Nevermore's wing holding on for dear life. The poor girl was still following the duo when the Nevermore accidentally dipped low enough for Adonis to strike and in the chaos, one of the beast's wings had slashed through the tree she was hiding in, making her leap randomly to safety. Unfortunately, she ended up on the creature itself.

Mallow stared in awe at this sight of Adonis viciously beating the bird without caution or fear. Little did he know, Adonis had actually jumped on to the Nevemore using, what had to be, yet another weapon. 'How does he have so many?' Mallow asked still astounded at this face. Most Hunters restricted themselves to just one weapon and endeavored to become masters of their chosen tool. And yet, somehow this guy had four.

Unfortunately for poor Mallow, he wasn't able to finish his thought. As he continued to unknowingly level the forest with the back of his head, he slammed into the tree containing Lupine and Phlox, as the latter recovered from her "trip". They wrapped around the chain, holding on for dear life.

"What's happening!?" Lupine roared over the roar of the wind and trees moving around them.

"I don't know!" Phlox and Mallow called at the same time. They paused for a second and looked at each other.

Phlox's eyes widened. "You're that weird guy from the airship! That one who just wouldn't talk to me!"

"That's nice darling, but can you please think of a way to get us out of this!" Lupine narrowly avoided the trunk of a rather thick tree, as well as a cloud of gnats. He couldn't run into those. They would mess up his face and hair.

"Shut your trap, I'm thinking!" Phlox looked upwards to see what was attached on the other end of the chain. Her eyes widened at the strange sight. Teel was now clinging desperately to her talon, unable to continue her assault on the other. Adonis was pressed against the Grimm's body, incapable of attacking due to the extra two people weighing him down. Luckily though, Amber had managed to get herself into a comfortable position and begun to slash at the monster's eyes with "Gumiho", while staying at a safe distance due to her weapon's reach.

Mallow traced Phlox's gaze towards the Grimm in the sky and suddenly, a bulb lit in his head. "I've got an idea! Listen to me!" Mallow called towards the two other people sharing his chain.

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" Phlox announced once more, completely ignoring him.

"Come on! Just listen to me!" Mallow screamed at Phlox.

"Please, I…"

"'You're thinking', I know!" Mallow interjected, with a very annoyed expression on his face. "Listen to me! We have to increase the weight we're exerting on the chain. It might be our only way to land. After all, Nevermore's have a nearly impenetrable hide that…" Mallow paused, realizing his deviation, correcting himself, and continuing on with his point. "Ignore that. We can't kill this thing. But we may be able to get off safely."

Phlox and Lupine were both rapt with attention. This seemed like a good idea and had just the method of completing it.

"I can weigh us down further," Phlox volunteered. She gestured at Adonis. "What about him, he looks like he's having problems."

"Adonis is strong enough to stay attached to the Nevermore, no matter what we do," Mallow said reassuringly, mostly to himself.

"Sounds great," Lupine said confidently. However, this feeling was not reflected in his eyes, which were of a deep doubt. He looked at Phlox, who shared his mentality.

Picking up on this, Mallow said, "Guys, just trust me. This _will_ work."

"If you say so…" Lupine said, while Phlox executed Mallow's strategy. Calling upon the remaining energy in her body, she began forming large, icy structures on the chain.

The results of the plan became evident immediately. The Nevermore shrieked once more in great pain as it began to rapidly descend into the tree line. Adonis roared as the chain holding three people, plus a large, amorphous ice sculpture dug into his arm and back, threatening to pull him off the beast. But he refused to fall. He would never give up, not when he was this close.

Eventually, the Nevermore came so close to the ground that Phlox and Lupine were able to safely hop off. Unfortunately, Mallow was still attached to the hook.

Voicing his slight (only slight) discontent of being left behind he screamed, "Guys, what about me!"

"Oh sorry!" Phlox called before grabbing several handfuls of sea-green dust and stuffing it into her mouth and nose. Her body began to glow spectacularly, much to the chagrin of Lupine.

"Darling, don't do that! It's dangerous." The young man reached towards Phlox trying to pull her hand away, only to be struck with a sudden gust of wind and launched several feet away.

"Don't call me darling." Manipulating the wind around the Nevermore, she began to disrupt the lift underneath its wings and soon it came plummeting to the ground. She then, manipulated the winds to catch the remaining teens and separate them from the Grimm. She guided them calmly to the ground, while sweating profusely and occasionally coughing hoarsely. Once everyone was safe on the ground, she let her hold of the Nevermore slack, and the Grimm escaped, its right leg barely attached.

The group of teens slowly collected themselves from the harrowing experience. They were all exhausted and ready for a long rest.

As they caught their breath, Amber and Teel realized that they were the only non-paired teens here and swiftly made each other's acquaintance.

Lupine held and rocked Phlox as she recovered from her massive "intake".

Mallow clutched the ground in reverence, so happy to be atop earthly foundation. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." He continued to bleat in happiness until an earth-shattering roar interrupted his appreciation of the ground.

The group of six teens turned to see a pack of Beowolves chasing a worried Maverick Casco. He activated his boosters to make narrow escapes. Dropped several charges to kill off and/or injure as many Grimm as he possibly could.

"Hey guys," Maverick called out towards the six teens on the other side of the clearing. "I could use a little help over here."

Responding to his call, all six teens got to their feet, drew their weapons and charged. Amber's "Gumiho" shifted from a long _waldo_ to a small cannon that was held at her hip, the blade rested underneath the weapon and she fired several explosive shots. Teel held her "Grasscutter", kind of like a rifle, and fired several dart-like projectiles from its nozzle. Phlox inhaled a handful of red dust and began launching small burst of fire from glyphs in her palms. Lupine fired the Gatling guns on his arms. Adonis drew his sword, shifted it into its bow form, and began firing his shrapnel-poles. And Mallow didn't do anything but run.

The Beowolves collapsed under fire, their lines thinning rapidly. Then, from the forest Marron and Waxyn appeared and began tearing down the Grimm from behind. With nine of the ten participants of initiation in attendance, the pack was utterly destroyed.

With the danger gone, the teens gathered around each other and caught their breaths under the starlight. No words word exchanged. In fact, most of them didn't even remember the other people's names.

Mallow wanted to say something to break the ice, lighten the mood, anything. But once again he was interrupted by the shriek of the Nevermore.

Every teen in attendance, looked up at the sky and at the ferocious monster gliding about.

Upon hearing the Nevermore's call, Mallow found a newfound confidence he did not know until recently. "Alright guys, I think we're safe from the Nevermore right now. We need to find out where the temple is and…"

Maverick casually appointed to the other end of the clearing they were in and at what appeared to be a decrepit circular, stone structure.

"Oh…"

The group of nine teens headed over towards the temple, at its center where five stone pedestals. Each held a differently colored coin. There was a green one, a red one, an orange one, a brown one, and a white one.

"Interesting…" Mallow said, picking up the red coin and raising it to the up to his eye.

"There's only five of them here," Maverick observed, looking around the pedestals. "I guess that means that each pair should just take one. Right guys?" The young man reached over and looked over the white coin and pocketed it.

"Makes sense," Marron said while picking up the brown coin for her and Waxyn. The other teens nodded in agreement, sharing his sentiments and pocketing their own coins. Mallow took the red coin for himself and Adonis. Phlox placed the green coin in her pouch for herself and Lupine. Marron grabbed hold of the brown coin and gave it to Waxyn to hold onto to. With nothing else to take, Teel slipped the orange coin into "Grasscutter".

The group of teens stood there for a while, slowly beginning to realize what they just achieved. Their mission is complete. All they had to do now was return to their origin point and scale the Beacon cliffs and they would have made it into the school. Each paused to reflect upon their experiences from where they stood now and where they came from. Only then, every single one of them remembered what Ozpin said, "One more thing. Since we only allow teams of four at Beacon, two of you - regardless of your success - will be eliminated." Everyone paused and sized each other up. One of them will not be able to go to Beacon. One of them will be gone. The brief moment of silence only passed for a few more seconds until all hell broke loose.

Everyone broke into a sprint running away from the broken temple and towards the Cliffside. Adonis grabbed a hold of Mallow and placed him on his back to prevent the young man from slowing him down. Unfortunately, as the teens continued their flight to success, the nearly one-legged Nevermore caught sight of potential prey and swopped down to finish them off.

"The Nevermore is coming back!" Mallow yelled, grabbing the attention of everyone in attendance. The creature flew close to them and unleashed a hail of sharp black, barbed feathers unto the teens. Each of them masterly avoided the Grimm's projectiles until they found cover underneath the trees.

"Damn, I nearly chopped that things leg off and it still wants more?!" Teel remarked incredulously.

"Nevermore are very tenacious," Adonis said gruffly with his even, deep, gravelly voice. "All monsters are, but these things will never leave you alone, unless you kill them."

Mallow carefully observed the reactions of the other participants in the vicinity. Many of them nodded slowly, acknowledging the logic in his statement; although, a few of the teenagers seemed to be experiencing more than agreement, specifically Phlox, Amber, and Teel. Those three appeared to be absolutely enthralled by the behemoth and his deep, calm voice. The young man laughed silently to himself. 'Adonis is pretty attractive isn't he?' he thought to himself.

"Alright, let's kill it then," Maverick said, his confidence suddenly returning. "If that's the only way to stop it, then we have no other option."

"Sounds great," Lupine said with equal parts calm and sarcastic. "Any ideas on how to actually do that?"

An awkward silence followed.

While his fellow participants tried to think of a plan, the gears in Mallow's head had already begun to turn. Using some of the knowledge he already knew about the monster, Mallow reviewed everything he possibly could, from its response to pain as well as his, already successful, plan to escape its clutches. "Guys! I've got a plan!"

For a lack of a better idea, everyone in attendance turned towards him, expectantly.

"Well, sort of. I uh… well I'll need to know a few things first. For one, Teel! How did you get on the Nevermore originally?" Mallow looked over towards the red-eyed individual, awaiting her response.

The young woman's eyes suddenly became downcast. She looked away embarrassingly and said, "I was dozing off in a tree, when it swooped down and grabbed me." She refused to meet anyone's eyes, especially Adonis's.

"Why were you in a tree?" Lupine asked with an eyebrow raised.

Teel huffed. "None of your concern."

Mallow waved his arms in the air to reclaim everyone's attention. "Okay good. I was just wondering because in order to kill that thing, we need to ground it. None of us can fly, so… we'll need that thing on the ground just to have a fighting chance."

"I don't mean to be contrary," Maverick said, his tone, slightly mocking. "But, I actually can fly. These thrusters on my boots are quite powerful. It will use a lot of energy but I can probably raise myself to the Nevermore's altitude."

"Great, that will be helpful." Mallow looked up at the sky, carefully tracking the Grimm's movement. "We'll need someone to be bait, in order to convince the Grimm to come near the ground. Someone needs to do what Teel did and wait in the tree, exposed to the bird. The rest of us will hide within the branches, and when the Grimm comes, we'll all grab on to it and try to weigh it down. We'll improvise from there. So guys, what do you think of that plan?"

A chorus of unsure agreements followed this question.

Taking that as a sign to go forward, Mallow suddenly felt an urge of confidence. This is what he had always wanted to do. "Okay, just one question. Who's going to be the bait?"

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Mallow trembled like a leaf as the wind night wind blew past him. He had to restrain the urge to either wet himself, break down crying, or both. 'I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead,' were his only thoughts as he awaited the Nevermore.

"Why am I doing this?" Mallow asked himself worriedly as he noticed the giant bird approached him.

"I'm sorry," Teel said with a shred of remorse. "That monster probably remembers the last time it picked me up and everyone else isn't expendable."

"Are you saying that I'm expendable?!" Mallow said in a panic.

"Not quite. It's just that you have no combat…" Teel began.

"Yes you are," Maverick said harshly to finish Teel's statement.

"Thank you, thank you very much. You guys are…" Mallow began sarcastically, slowly finding himself returning to his old state despite his near death situation.

"Shut up, it's coming, we gotta job to do," Phlox said frantically interrupting Mallow's sarcastic statement while snorting a mixed variety of powder.

"Wha-?" Poor Mallow couldn't finish his statement as the Nevermore slammed into the tree everyone was all hiding in, attempting to devour the petite young man.

"Pile on everyone!" Maverick cried, as all eight other teens jumped after him and began trying to weight the Grimm down. Lupine unleashed a stream of bullets into the Nevermore's tough hide. Waxyn jabbed his harpoon into the area beneath the creature's left wing. Maverick began to unload clip after clip into the area beneath the creature's right wing. Amber resumed her position of aggressively slashing at its eyes. Teel finally managed to separate the monster's right leg from its body, eliciting a screech from the avian Grimm's maw. Mallow desperately clung to its leg. Phlox summoned a giant chunk of ice around the Nevermore's left leg. And with a grim determination in his eyes, Adonis recommenced his assault. But of all the attackers (besides Teel), only Marron succeeded in tearing through its hide.

Engaging her semblance, the young woman managed to tear a hole in the creature's flesh, fresh blood streamed outwards missing her completely but landing on the already blood-stained Mallow.

Despite all nine of their efforts, they couldn't seem to avail anything. For some reason, they couldn't seem to weight the monster down.

"What do we do now?!" Maverick roared as he reloaded his handguns, wind utterly flogging the young man.

"We could always try and fly it into the Beacon Cliffside," Amber yelled timidly, speaking for the first time since they had all gathered.

The nine teens looked at each other and still remembering what Ozpin had said… and discarding it. If they didn't work together than no one was making it there – except for Adonis, but then he wouldn't be able to attend without a partner.

"Okay guys, let's fly a…a…bird?" Amber asked, somewhat unsure now.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Lupine roared with the wind.

The nine teens began to move with the aid of hand gestures and Amber's supervision. They prodded the creature with stabs and gunshots to move it towards the cliff. When that failed, they began to force the creature's body in the right direction by forcefully manipulating its wings, utilizing the chains that seemed to spawn out of Adonis's cloak. Soon, they had become a cohesive unit and were soon, on their way to the Beacon cliffs. They collectively cheered in triumph for they had won. Unfortunately, the feeling was not to last. The Nevermore began to jerk violently, attempting to throw everyone off and it succeeded for all except Maverick.

Now, seven teens collectively screamed in terror as their lives flashed before their eyes. They might be able to save themselves with a similar landing strategy, used at the beginning of initiation. The only problem was the Nevermore, which had swooped around while flaunting its obvious advantage in the air.

Phlox tried to inhale more sea-green dust only for it to be too much for her. This resulted in her passing out mid-air.

"Phlox!" Lupine grabbed a hold of her and clutched her tightly, waiting for the end.

As the ground approached rapidly, the only teen not in absolute terror was Adonis. With an absolute look of pure focus and determination, he called the green gauntlets to his hand. He fired the hooks off at the other teens, catching their armor and carefully avoiding their clothes. Soon he had formed a net of chains for everyone. Then, he drew another weapon from his trench coat.

This one was a very simple grey color. It appeared in the form of a tremendous single-edged broadsword seemingly made up of composite parts. Activating a mechanism on the sword, it promptly split down the middle as well as becoming more streamlined, eventually forming a cannon of sorts. The weapon began to hum with incredible power, before a loud blast akin to a sonic boom – and the explosion Mallow heard when Adonis had jumped on the Nevermore the first time – resulted.

The group of seven flailing teens and one behemoth of one moved in closer to the cliffs. The ground rapidly approached. They took rough estimates in their head of when they would meet the ground. The eventual consensus was that they would die in fifteen seconds. But luckily for them, Adonis appeared to have a plan. As his net of chains brought them all closer to the cliffs, Adonis closed his eyes and concentrated.

Mallow probably would have considered it to be a trick of his eye, but he thought he saw the areas around Adonis's eyes darken and wrinkle, somewhat. However, his belief that it was a trick was instantly dispersed when he opened his eyes. They were of a bright yellow, unlike the sun, far worse. It was a terrible, harsh color burning into him.

Suddenly, the Cliffside reached up and caught them and began to carry them up the slope. Each of them held themselves – and in the case of Lupine, himself and Phlox – as they nearly refused to believe what was happening. They were resting on a bed of black crystals that slowly brought them to the top of the cliff, where Ozpin and Glynda were waiting patiently.

Mallow couldn't help but smirk slightly at Glynda's disbelieving face and Ozpin's continued lack of expression. Until he looked down at himself and he blanched. His clothes were utterly ruined; torn apart by his fall, the brush, and his exposure to the Nevermore's rough feathers. Blood, dirt, and a few tears were mixed with the sweat of his own body creating an ugly vision for both the eyes and the nose. And yet, he couldn't care less. He had made it he could join Beacon.

Then, he remembered the whole point of initiation he reached into his pockets and frantically tried to find the coin. Meanwhile, all the other pairs handed their green, orange, and brown coins to Ozpin, much to Mallow's fear. But before Ozpin could ask for the coin himself, a roar of fury – completely unlike the Nevermore – pierced the air.

Everyone on the cliff, turned towards the Emerald Forest to see the sun rising from below the horizon. It was a glorious orange and yellow, triumphantly staving away the grip of night. With the added natural light, they could all see the Grimm struggling as something continued to fight it.

"Take this, you avian asshole!" Maverick clamored around the Nevermore's body putting some well-placed shots into a few damaged areas of the Grimm's body. He held tightly to its feathers while using the thrusters in his boots to stabilize himself. 'This things going to die,' Maverick thought bitterly, 'for ruining my escape. Now, because this _thing_ that loser, Mallow gets to go to Beacon. I can't stand the sight of that.' Still as bitter, Maverick managed to bring himself up to the Beast's beak and slowly wrenched the two parts open with his impressively strong legs. "Die!" he roared as he unloaded the rest of his clip into the Nevermore's mouth, receiving gouts of blood in return. Ignoring the suffering monster's cries, Maverick reached into a few small pouches on his person and withdrew ten dormant charges, five in each hand. With a sick smirk, he dropped all of them into the wounded maw of the bird. "Say goodbye," he whispered quietly as he loaded his last two clips into his handguns. He set each of his weapons to their maximum firing potential and pulled the trigger, unleashing two powerful explosive shots that required the entire clip, as he jumped out of the Nevermore's beak.

Everyone on the cliff looked away as a glorious explosion rocked the Emerald Forest as bits of black rained from the sky.

Maverick began to fly towards the cliff, desperate to prove himself. However, in his rush, he did not look back at the explosion and a lone, separated wing crashed down unto his left leg, breaking it and causing his thruster to malfunction. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Maverick instantly lost sight of the Cliffside and instead saw only the tree line as he plummeted into it.

Glynda sighed silently in relief as she witnessed the young man crash into a tree, knocking himself out, as a white coin slipped out of his pocket and into the brush below.

Ignoring the plight of the young man, Ozpin turned towards Mallow and stared at him intently. "Do you have the relic?"

The young man began to tremble, searching himself again and again and only finding nothing. "I'm sorry sir, I don't…"

"Here it is," interjected the low voice of Adonis, who held out the red coin and placed it in Ozpin's hand – which was largely dwarfed by his.

Mallow felt like fainting from relief, only to actually faint. He fell to the ground, only barely being caught by Adonis. As consciousness escaped him, Ozpin began to speak again. The young man was already losing hearing but he was just about able to hear, "…for the next four years, you all will be Team MAPL and Team ATWM…"

* * *

><p>Have a nice life!<p> 


	8. A New Dawn

Terrible title, I know. Continuing on with the Volume 2 festivities, I decided to write something that actually contained Team RWBY. I hope I didn't butcher all of our favorite characters. But... y'know, artistic license and personal interpretation... right guys? I guess not. But, sorry in advance.

ElfCollaborator: This is the chapter eight I told you about. Feel free to do whatever you want.

* * *

><p><span>A New Dawn<span>

The day began like any other for the students of Beacon. Sunlight rained into the windows of the prestigious academy, awakening the sleep-logged students. Preparing for the day in very diverse rituals, the students eventually found themselves dressed in their uniforms – the black suit for the guys and the plaid skirt and brown jacket for the girls – and heading down towards the great dining hall of Beacon academy.

A bleary-eyed Ruby Rose trudged slowly into the dining hall alongside an equally exhausted Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Nora. The titular group of friends had spent the majority of the night watching the pirated channel from Team RWBY's dorm.

Not a single world was being exchanged between the group of students, for they were simply exhausted.

They roamed around the dining hall, like multi-colored zombies, moaning and groaning as they searched for the rest of their teams.

Ruby peered around the glorified cafeteria, trying to find her white-haired partner and teammate.

"Weiiiiiiiiiiis?" the red and black-haired girl groaned while looking around. "Hey guys, can you get me food? I'll go find Weiss."

While yawning Yang managed to say, "Sounds good, Ruby," before trudging off with everyone else to obtain breakfast while her little sister hunted down their elusive teammate.

"Weiiiiiiiis? Weiiiiii?" Ruby called, much to the confusion and annoyance of the other students in the room. "Weiss, where are you? Wei-?"

"Shh!" Weiss grabbed Ruby and set her down right next to her and, what had to be, Ren's currently vacated seat.

Seeing this, Ruby had a sudden moment of clarity and consciousness and awareness. She put her arm around Weiss – earning her an exasperated look from the white-haired girl, fully aware of what was happening next – and asked in a teasing voice, "So Weiss, how was last night, with Ren?"

Weiss looked away and pretended to be oblivious to what she knew her friend was leading up to. "It was nice. Far quieter than our room, that's for certain."

"That's not what I meant, Weiss," Ruby said with a slight huff. "I meant, did you guys _do_ anything?"

"We studied for that test in Oobleck's…"

"No, no, no, did you do anything _fun_? With each other?" Ruby grinned suggestively and waggled her eyebrows.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed every loudly, drawing the attention from a few of the other students, as well as allowing the rest of RWBY and JNPR to find them. "We did no such thing! How could you – Why would you – What are – Gah!"

Luckily, before Weiss could explode all of their friends returned with food. "Here Ruby, breakfast!" Yang announced.

Ruby pulled away from Weiss – much to the young girl's relief – and turned towards her older sister. "Cool! What did you get for me?!"

"Five blueberry pancakes with extra syrup, three strips of bacon also with syrup, and a chocolate chip cookie! How's that sound?!" Yang said cheerfully, clearly boosted by caffeine.

Ruby instantly shrugged off her drowsiness and ravenously devoured the sugary meal. She jumped up and down in jittery giddiness.

Fully aware of how her excitable friend operates, Weiss turned towards Ruby and resumed their conversation – albeit, with a different paradigm. "Hey Ruby, how was _your_ night. It sounded like you guys had a lot of fun."

Weiss had expected Ruby to gush about the experience. After all, she absolutely loved seeing all kinds of new weaponry and fighting styles. However, what the young heiress didn't expect was the torrent of uncontrolled happiness spurred by sugar that escaped her partner's small mouth.

"Did we?! Oh Weiss, you should've been there! I mean, you were there for a while but then you left and missed all the super amazing things that happened next! This one guy had a super cool harpoon – spear thing that's also a gun and, and a… a… harpoon! Aahh! And guess what? This one girl had this weird, but cool, gourd that did all these cool, but weird, things. Then… then… there was another really cool girl with an amazing sword-rifle-gun thing and a shield-axe that… oh… you really should've been there, Weiss! You missed everything! Oh and… gah! I'm forgetting something! Oh yeah! There was this giant guy who could use all these really cool weapons. He had this giant red sword that could turn into a bow! And these gauntlets that were like Yang's except they were much larger and less explodey bits. And another pair of _green_ gauntlets that did all of these cool things that… that… I can't explain to you. But I can show you! Oh Weiss, you should've seen how that guy tore through wave after wave of monsters. He was sooooooooooooooo cool!"

"Looks like someone's in love," Yang teased.

"Don't be silly," Ruby said with slightly less excitement. "And also, don't like and pretend that he isn't memorable to you!"

"Oh, he's definitely memorable. In more ways than one…" Yang said cheerfully, while waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Ignoring her sister's comment, Ruby resumed gushing. "Oh Weiss, the best part is when this one guy took out a Nevermore by himself! He shot it in the mouth a few times before dropping several charges into its mouth and then… then… it blew up! It exploded! And it was amazing! Best night ever!" Ruby finally calmed down, relaxing from her sugar high.

"I see," Weiss moved to accept her breakfast from Blake and began eating slowly and politely.

With Ruby finally calm, Yang decided to casually address her white-haired teammate. "Hey Weiss, did you do anything with Ren last night?"

At that, Weiss just put her face in her palm and said nothing else.

Before Yang or Ruby (or Blake) could add more to embarrass the Schnee heiress, speakers around the school begin to blare an announcement: "will all students please head down to the entrance hall. We have something special to announce."

"It's them! I know it!" Ruby leapt from her seat and excitedly ran towards the entrance hall.

"We might as well follow her," Blake suggested, picking up her bowl of tuna and rice and following her ally.

"Agreed, come on Weiss." Yang started after the rest of her team and towards the entrance hall.

The heiress sighed. "I might as well tag along."

Once all of them RWBY left, Ren joined Nora and Jaune at the table with a cup of coffee.

"Hey Ren, where's Pyrrha?"

* * *

><p>Sorry about the abrupt ending. I just couldn't think of a better way to end this...<p>

Anyways, thank you, all of you who took the time to stick with this story, so far. But sad to say that I have to take a hiatus from this story. After all, I have other projects to work on. I'm sorry. But I won't forget about this story. In a week (or three), I'll be back to continue. Besides, I want to (and I know you do) focus on the actual canon stuff coming out in the next couple of months. So yeah, thanks for reading. And thanks for all of your encouragement. It means a lot.

As always (or just now), please leave your thoughts in a review or PM.

Have a nice life!


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